Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2017 Jul 14;7(3):45.
doi: 10.3390/bs7030045.

Family Communication at the End of Life

Maureen P Keeley  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Family Communication at the End of Life

Maureen P Keeley. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

People often feel awkward and ill at ease when faced with the opportunity for communication at the end of life, thus the overall theme for the articles in this special issue is the creation of more awareness and knowledge regarding the depth, breadth, and importance of current research exploring family communication at the end of life. This introductory essay attempts to accomplish the following: (1) discuss the importance of talk regarding death; (2) highlight the formative role of family interactions on the death and dying process; and (3) outline the articles in this special issue. Scholars contributing to this special issue on "Family Communication at the End of Life" have provided evidence that communication is important between and for terminally ill individuals, family members, and healthcare/palliative care specialists. Overall, research exploring communication at the end of life is especially relevant because every person experiences the death and loss of loved ones, and ultimately faces the reality of their own death.

Keywords: communication; death and dying; end of life; family; healthcare; palliative care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Keeley M.P. “Turning toward death together”: The functions of messages during final conversations in close relationships. J. Soc. Pers. Relatsh. 2007;24:225–253. doi: 10.1177/0265407507075412. - DOI
    1. Bullock K. The influence on culture on end-of-life decision making. J. Soc. Work End-Life Palliat. Care. 2011;7:83–98. doi: 10.1080/15524256.2011.548048. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Keeley M.P., Generous M. The Challenges of Final Conversations: Dialectical Tensions during End-of-Life Family Communication from Survivors Retrospective Accounts. South. Commun. J. 2015;80 doi: 10.1080/1041794X.2015.1081975. - DOI
    1. Keeley M.P. Final conversations: Survivors’ memorable messages concerning religious faith and spirituality. Health Commun. 2004;16:87–104. doi: 10.1207/S15327027HC1601_6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Generous M., Keeley M.P. Topics avoided and neglected with terminally ill loved ones at the end of life. Death Stud. 2016 doi: 10.1080/07481187.2016.1236850. - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources