Perceptions of a good death and communication apprehension about death as correlates to end-of-life documentation

Individual conceptions of what constitutes a good death vary greatly depending on physical, psychological, biomedical, spiritual beliefs, and health needs. Communicating and preparing personalized good death experiences promote quality, treatment, and care at the end-of-life and after death. This study examines the relationship between good death perceptions, communication apprehension about death, and communication and documentation of individuals' advance care and aftercare preferences.

Participants (N = 424) completed a survey assessing their perceptions of a good death, their communication apprehension about death, documentation of their end-of-life and aftercare wishes, and previous communication with loved ones of those wishes.

Participants rarely documented or communicated their wishes to others. Good death was also positively correlated with individuals' likelihood of having end-of-life documentation but negatively correlated with having aftercare documents. Further, individuals with high levels of communication apprehension about death were significantly less likely to have advance care and aftercare plans. Multiple regressions forecasted that communication with others and communication apprehension about death were major contributors to documenting preferences.

Study findings suggest that the meaning individuals place on what they believe makes a good death could make it difficult for them to communicate their wishes to others. Documenting and communicating wishes, especially before someone is incapable of communicating, are important ways to help individuals achieve their vision of a good death and help reduce communication apprehension.