Journal of advanced nursing
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The aim of this paper is to report a study exploring patients' understanding of their discussions about end-of-life care with nurses in a palliative care setting. ⋯ Palliative care patients often adopt passive roles and tend not to engage in important decision-making, for various reasons. Professionals need to be made aware of this, and should facilitate an open, trusting relationship with patients in order to ensure that important information passes freely in both directions. Professionals should learn to prioritize patient participation and negotiation in their work. With further research, it should be possible to identify the factors that will allow patients to take a more pro-active role in making decisions about their care, where desired.