The article “Palliative Care and the Importance of Communication Between Nurse and Patient, Family and Caregiver” by Andrade et al. (2019) is based on the research of 14 articles about the communication’s importance in nursing. The study aims to both assess and understand the existing research on palliative care (PC) and the importance of communication related to PC. The results of the study show that nurses play an essential role in providing PC, while communication is a fundamental strategy that strengthens the link between nurses and patients.
PC is a caregiving approach that aims at improving patients’ living conditions and takes into consideration not only their physical but also emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Through dialogue with patients and their families, nurses can “discover many anxieties, fears and clarify doubts present in this situation” (Andrade et al., 2019, 716). Thus, nurses’ effective communication with patients and their families is of extreme importance since it allows them to assess and better understand patients’ needs, as well as patients’ family members’ concerns.
Providing quality PC implies establishing an interpersonal contact, ensuring continuity, spending as much time as required with patients, and providing any possible type of assistance. Nurses must maintain communication with patients and their families to help them adapt to physical and psychological changes that occur in terminally ill patients, “thus, adequately deal with this situation and the stage of treatment” (Andrade et al., 2019, p. 716). Good communication in PC is mandatory at every stage of the treatment, including the post mortem care.
Reference
Andrade, G. B., Pedroso, V. S. M., Weykamp, J. M., Soares, L. D. S., Siqueira, H. C. H., & Yasin, J. C. M. (2019). Palliative care and the importance of communication between nurse and patient, family and caregiver. Revista de Pesquisa: Cuidado é Fundamental Online, 11(3), 713-717. Web.