title: Ensuring patient choices about dignity and place of death are respected at the end of life.
abstract: Ensuring patient choice and dignity are priorities in providing high quality end of life care. This artide discusses the importance of psychosocial care when patients receive a terminal diagnosis, and the district nurse's role in ensuring their choices about place of death are respected. It examines some of the dilemmas nurses may face in respecting patients' preferences about place of care and death, and looks at how services may need to change in the future to meet the needs of the increasing ageing population.
authors.affiliation: Croxteth Medical Centre, North Liverpool Primary Care Trust.
authors.forename: Lorna-Rose
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bracegirdle
mesh_terms: D003152:Community Health Nursing; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care; D057240:Patient Preference; D028723:Personhood; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012944:Social Support; D013727:Terminal Care; D006113:United Kingdom