The phenomenon of end-of-life (EOL) decision-making is a lived experience by which individuals or families make decisions about care they will receive prior to death. A postmodern philosophical approach suggests EOL decision-making is a varied contextual phenomenon that is highly influenced by subjectivity. Thus, there is no specific definition for the phenomenon of EOL decision-making. Watson’s theory of human caring complements a postmodern approach in guiding the nursing process of caring for individuals as they experience EOL decision-making.
AdamsJ. A.BaileyD. E.AndersonR. A.DochertyS. L. (2011). Nursing roles and strategies in end-of-life decision-making in acute care: A systematic review of the literature. Nursing Research and Practice, 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/527834
2.
AlbertS. M.LunneyJ. R.YeL.BoudreauR.IvesD.SatterfieldS.. . . HarrisT. (2016). Symptom burden and end-of-life treatment preferences in the very old. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 52, 404–411. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.03.009
3.
BachV.PloegJ.BlackM. (2009). Nursing roles in end-of-life decision-making in critical care settings. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 31, 496–512. doi:10.1177/0193945908331178
DillworthJ.DicksonV. V.MuellerA.ShulukJ.YoonH. W.CapezutiE. (2016). Nurses’ perspectives: Hospitalized older patients and end-of-life decision-making. Nursing in Critical Care, 21, e1–e11. doi:10.1111/nicc.12125
6.
DobbinsE. H. (2016). Improving end-of-life care: Recommendations from the IOM. The Nurse Practitioner, 41, 26–34. doi:10.1097/01.NPR.0000490388.58851.e0
7.
FangM. L.SixmithJ.SinclairS.HorstG. (2016). A knowledge synthesis of culturally- and spiritually-sensitive end-of-life care: Findings from a scoping review. BMC Geriatrics, 16, 1–14. doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0282-6
8.
GadowS. (1999). Relational narrative: The postmodern turn in nursing ethics. Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice, 13, 57–70.
9.
GarrardE.WrigleyA. (2009). Hope and terminal illness: False hope versus absolute hope. Clinical Ethics, 4, 38–43. doi:10.1258/ce.2008.008050
10.
JohnstoneM.HutchinsonA. M.RawsonH.RedleyB. (2016). Nursing strategies for engaging families of older immigrants hospitalized for end-of-life care: An Australian study. Journal of Patient Experience, 3(3), 57–63. doi:10.1177/2374373516667004
11.
NinosakaY. (2015). Death, dignity, and the significance of home hospice care. Japan Medical Association Journal, 58(1–2), 44–47.
12.
NortonS. A.TalericoK. A. (2000). Facilitating end-of-life decision-making strategies for communicating and assessing. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 26, 6–13.
13.
PolifroniE. C.WelchM. (Eds.). (1999). Perspectives on philosophy of science in nursing: An historical and contemporary anthology. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.
14.
ReinkeL. F.ShannonS. E.EngelbergR.DotoloD.SilvestriG. A.CurtisJ. R. (2010). Nurses’ identification of important yet under-utilized end-of-life care skills for patients with life-limiting or terminal illnesses. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 13, 753–759. doi:10.1089/jpm.2009.0423
15.
SpiroM. E. (1996). Postmodernist anthropology, subjectivity, and science: A modernist critique. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 38, 759–780.
16.
VareliusJ. (2006). The value of autonomy in medical ethics. Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy, 9, 377–388. doi:10.1007/s11019-006-9000-z
17.
WagnerA. L. (2010). Core concepts of Jean Watson’s theory of human caring/caring science. Watson Caring Science Institute. Retrieved from https://www.watsoncaringscience.org/
18.
WatsonM. J. (1988). New dimensions of human caring theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 1, 175–181.
19.
WatsonJ. (1996). Watson’s theory of transpersonal caring. In WalkerP. H.NeumanB. M. (Eds.), Blueprint for use of nursing models: Education, research, practice, and administration (pp. 141–184). New York, NY: National League for Nursing Press.
20.
WatsonJ. (2007). Watson’s theory of human caring and subjective living experiences: Carative factors/caritas processes as a disciplinary guide to the professional nursing practice. Texto Contexto Enferm, Journal of the Graduate Program at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, 16, 129–135. doi:10.1590/S0104-07072007000100016
21.
WooJ. A.MaytalG.SternT. A. (2006). Clinical challenges to the delivery of end-of-life care. Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 8, 367–372.
