Palliative Care Commons^™

Hoping To Die Well: An Exploration Of The Good Death, Emily Folse, Thomas Smith, Phd

Phase 1

Introduction: Many healthcare providers are uncomfortable and ill-equipped to talk about death with terminally ill patients and their families. This often results in unnecessary, aggressive medical interventions at the end of life and deaths discordant with patients’ wishes. In order to help patients die better deaths, it is first necessary to determine the character of a good death.

Methods: The good death was considered from secular and Catholic perspectives because religion is personally important to the author and many patients in the US. Features of a good death were elucidated by careful reading of scientific and humanistic literature and conversing …