The online representation of palliative care by practice, policy, and advocacy organizations : definitional variations and discursive tensions

Negative beliefs and a lack of clarity surrounding the meaning of palliative care have been widely reported as obstacles to its uptake. Information available to the public possibly contributes to this. A descriptive and discourse-theoretical analysis was conducted of information spread online by palliative care policy, advocacy, and practice organizations. Discrepancies were found in the way palliative care was defined in relation to curative, end-of-life, terminal, and supportive care. Beyond these definitional variations, meaning was generated through the representation of palliative care as... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Matthys, Marjolein
Dhollander, Naomi
Van Brussel, Leen
Beernaert, Kim
Deforche, Benedicte
Cohen, Joachim
Deliens, Luc
Chambaere, Kenneth
Dokumenttyp: journalarticle
Erscheinungsdatum: 2021
Schlagwörter: Medicine and Health Sciences / Social Sciences / Public Health / Environmental and Occupational Health / palliative care / discourse-theoretical analysis / online information / qualitative research / Belgium / ADVANCED CANCER / POPULATION / AWARENESS / DEATH / NEED / PERCEPTIONS / END
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28539498
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8739013

Negative beliefs and a lack of clarity surrounding the meaning of palliative care have been widely reported as obstacles to its uptake. Information available to the public possibly contributes to this. A descriptive and discourse-theoretical analysis was conducted of information spread online by palliative care policy, advocacy, and practice organizations. Discrepancies were found in the way palliative care was defined in relation to curative, end-of-life, terminal, and supportive care. Beyond these definitional variations, meaning was generated through the representation of palliative care as a culture, connected to total care, compassion, and openness. Tensions arose around the concepts of autonomy, a natural death, and an emphasis on the quality of life away from death and dying. Overall, this study showed that the online information of palliative care is a potential source of confusion and might even contribute to its stigmatization. Insights are provided that may help improve clarity toward the public.