A Cross Cultural View on Communication with Family and Cooperation in Palliative Care

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient’s prognosis.There is a form of Cultural competence which includes providing effective health care across diverse cultures by working collaboratively and communicating effectively .Physicians who are aware of their own and their patients’ cultural backgrounds, along with the values that are often implicit in current medical models, are better able to achieve mutual understanding within the patient encounter and to focus on culturally appropriate health care interventions . The LEARN (Listen, Explain, Acknowledge, Recommend, Negotiate) model is a framework for cross-cultural communication that helps build mutual understanding and enhance patient care. After establishing a baseline understanding of some of the factors that influence and shape family end of life communication, empirical research centered on the communication tendencies of internationally-recognized palliative care clinicians has been studied. Because death is no longer confined to the bedroom and individuals are increasingly turning to hospitals and health care institutes to assist with end of life, the role of palliative care practitioners is vital. To that end, common communication-rooted issues that may transpire among various medical personnel are explored. Focus on a shared underlying tension—care vs. cure—links the findings between family and palliative care clinician communication regarding end of life. Practical communication solutions and suggestions are offered to facilitate productive and mindful end of life communication between and among family members and health care practitioners.