Keywords
end of life care; critical care; intensive care unit; terminal illness
Abstract
The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) provides specialized care for critically ill individuals, but despite aggressive treatments, the risk of mortality remains high. Transitioning from life-saving interventions to end-of-life care (EoLC) can be emotionally challenging for families and the healthcare team. Fear of EoLC can lead to a continuation of futile treatments, leading to ethical conflicts, emotional distress, and unnecessary suffering. The primary purpose of this literature review is to explore incongruencies in family expectations for EoLC in terminally ill individuals in the ICU in the transition of care from life-saving measures to EoLC. The secondary purpose of this literature review is to explore interventions the healthcare team provides for families during the transition to EoLC to ease the decision-making process. A systematic literature search was conducted using EBSCOhost, MEDline, and CINAHL databases using search terms “critical care,” “physician-family relation,” “decision-making,” and “end of life.” Fourteen out of seventeen articles identify interventions to mitigate family and healthcare staff differences at EoLC. Results suggest combining communication with comprehensive EoLC needs catered towards the needs of critically ill individuals and relatives meaningful to the individual. The findings highlight the need to address this critical gap in providing family support during one of life’s most challenging transitions.
Thesis Completion Year
2025
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
D'Amato-Kubiet, Leslee
College
College of Nursing
Thesis Discipline
Nursing
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
STARS Citation
Kim, Yunju, "Family Perceptions of End-of-Life Care for Terminally Ill Individuals in the Intensive Care Unit" (2025). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 318.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/318
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