Norton, S. A.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe family caregivers' perspectives of the final month of life of patients with advanced cancer, particularly whether and how chemotherapy was discontinued and the effect of clinical decision-making on family caregivers' perceptions of the patient's experience of care at the end of life (EOL). Methods: Qualitative descriptive design using semi-structured interviews collected from 92 family caregivers of patients with end-stage cancer enrolled in a randomized clinical trial.

Experts in both heart failure and palliative care recommend collaboration between the two disciplines as a mechanism to improve late-stage heart failure care. However, referral rates of heart failure patients to palliative care services remain low. The purpose of this study was to describe the perspectives of heart failure patients and their family members regarding the barriers to palliative care in late-stage heart failure care.