The Concept of Death as Understood by Dialysis Patients and Nephrology Nurses and the Role of the Nurses in Helping Patients Cope With Death

Abstract

Death is a difficult-to-discuss topic that is largely avoided. Developing the ability of nephrology nurses to discuss the concept of death and express their thoughts and feelings about it will contribute to their own development and improve the quality of health care they provide to patients. Further, nephrology nurses need to collaborate with psychiatric consultation liaison nurses so that they can fulfill-their responsibility to provide holistic care to both the patients and their families. This study reviews the literature on the concept of death as understood by nephrology nurses and dialysis patients and presents up-to-date information on the subject.