End-of-life care in assisted living facilities: Perceptions of residents, families, and staffs

Juliana Cartwright, Jeanie Kayser-Jones

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    25 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Terminally ill residents, their families, and care providers were interviewed and observed in 4 assisted living facilities (ALFs). Families supported the residents’ desires to die “at home,” and dying residents had sustained, caring relationships with some staff. Facilities varied in terms of the services they could provide at the end of life. The staff did not always have sufficient training in care at the end of life, and staffing ratios did not always accommodate the intense care needs of dying people. ALF and hospice staffs did not plan, coordinate, or communicate sufficiently in providing care services. This study suggests that the privacy and autonomy that make ALFs desirable living environments may create challenges when dying residents require increasingly intense monitoring and care.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)143-151
    Number of pages9
    JournalJournal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing
    Volume5
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2003

    Keywords

    • Assisted living facilities
    • End-of-life care
    • Hospice
    • Palliative care
    • Terminal care

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Community and Home Care
    • Advanced and Specialized Nursing

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