title: Harnessing complex emergent metaphors for effective communication in palliative care: a multimodal perceptual analysis of hospice patients' reports of transcendence experiences.
abstract: Terminally ill patients can have unexpected, enigmatic, and profound cognitive shifts that significantly alter their perception of themselves, thereby eliminating their fear of death and dying. However, there are no systematic studies into these remarkable yet ineffable transcendence experiences. They therefore remain easily overlooked or viewed as isolated anomalies and therefore excluded from quality-of-life patient considerations. We use a multimodal methodology for identifying the prevalence and thematic properties of complex emergent metaphors patients use to report these experiences. Although previous research has pioneered the importance of understanding conventional or primary metaphors at the end of life, our findings indicate the considerable potential of more complex metaphors for reducing barriers to effective communication in palliative care.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Canada.
authors.forename: Bruce L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Lloyd
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003142:Communication; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception
keywords: communication; effective communication; end-of-life experiences; metaphors; mixed methods; multidiscipline; quality of life; transcendence