Abstract

Aim: To explore an interdisciplinary team’s perceptions of families’ needs and experiences surrounding terminal restlessness.

Design: A qualitative exploratory design using two focus groups.

Sample: Participants were members of an interdisciplinary palliative care team working in a palliative care unit in a university teaching hospital in Israel.

Results: The palliative care team confronted several challenging and stressful issues surrounding the management of terminal restlessness that influenced their treatment decisions and relationships with families. Four themes reflected the participants’ perceptions and experiences: suffering, maintaining control, feelings of ambivalence and valuing communication to reduce conflict.

Conclusion: Findings suggest the need for comprehensive treatment plans to meet the special supportive and information needs of these families, specific supportive strategies for the professional caregivers and further studies to develop ethical criteria and evidence-based guidelines for the use of sedation in the management of terminal restlessness.