title: Palliative care in emergency departments:  an impossible challenge?
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the care practices surrounding end-of-life patients and the scope for providing palliative care in two emergency department short-stay units. Two qualitative methods of investigation were used: direct ethnographic-type observation and semi-directed group interviews. The results highlight the fact that end-of-life situations inflect the practices of care and give rise to adjustments in the organization of work. These practices operate in two registers: that of supporting the family and that of attention to the patient's comfort. We propose a typology of end-of-life patients. In conclusion, the practices, termed 'palliative care' by the caregivers, are addressed to terminally ill patients expected to die shortly. This issue should be debated within emergency departments.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Research Institute on Social Issues (IRIS), University Hospitals Paris-Seine-Saint-Denis, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, Bobigny Cedex, France. marie-france.couilliot@rmb.aphp.fr
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Couilliot
authors.forename: Danièle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Leboul
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Douguet
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D012947:Social Work / Q000458:organization & administration; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*