Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2025

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Storytelling near the end-of-life: Contingency modes in conversations with relatives of patients receiving palliative
1Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden.
Abstract:
This article explores the role of end-of-life conversations between palliative home-care patients and their relatives in shaping the bereavement process. Through interviews with 17 bereaved relatives, four distinct modes of contingency were identified: denial, acknowledgment, accepting, and receiving. While some individuals remained in a single mode, others transitioned through all four, suggesting a deeply personal process independent of external influences. The findings underscore the importance of healthcare providers facilitating these conversations, as they can help relatives process emotions and support their grieving. By addressing these modes, caregivers can aid relatives in becoming compassionate advocates for patients nearing death. The study highlights the need for further research into strategies for supporting relatives in navigating these modes, potentially enhancing bereavement care practices.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Ethical Dilemmas II
Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying
In denial, individuals reject the reality of their condition, often thinking, "This isn't true; I feel fine," as a way to protect themselves from...
Continuing Care
Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...

