Objective To investigate current situation and the factors influencing end-of-life communications in families having cancer patients in order to provide advices for family intervention.Methods In this cross-sectional study,convenience sampling method was used to select 354 cancer patients from three Tier-IIIA hospitals in Shiyan between December 2022 and May 2023.Data were collected using a general data questionnaire,the difficulties in end-of-life discussions-family inventory(DEOLD-FI),family assessment device(FAD),and the Chinese version of the strategies used by people to promote health(SUPPH)scale.Univariate analysis included analysis of variance,independent sample t-test,and Pearson correlation analysis.Multiple linear regression identified the factors associated with end-of-life communication difficulty with cancer patients.Results A total of 320 cancer patients completed the study.The score of end-of-life communication with cancer patients was(76.5±16.0)at medium level.Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that individuals who were older,had higher self-management efficacy,and had better family functioning experienced lower barriers to end-of-life communication.Those with three or more comorbidities experienced the lowest barriers to end-of-life communication.Conclusion This study has found that there is a moderate end-of-life communication difficulty with cancer patients.Medical professionals should focus on these reasons and organize multidisciplinary collaboration with families,hospitals and social workers is essential to address the challenges.

Objective To investigate current situation and the factors influencing end-of-life communications in families having cancer patients in order to provide advices for family intervention.Methods In this cross-sectional study,convenience sampling method was used to select 354 cancer patients from three Tier-IIIA hospitals in Shiyan between December 2022 and May 2023.Data were collected using a general data questionnaire,the difficulties in end-of-life discussions-family inventory(DEOLD-FI),family assessment device(FAD),and the Chinese version of the strategies used by people to promote health(SUPPH)scale.Univariate analysis included analysis of variance,independent sample t-test,and Pearson correlation analysis.Multiple linear regression identified the factors associated with end-of-life communication difficulty with cancer patients.Results A total of 320 cancer patients completed the study.The score of end-of-life communication with cancer patients was(76.5±16.0)at medium level.Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that individuals who were older,had higher self-management efficacy,and had better family functioning experienced lower barriers to end-of-life communication.Those with three or more comorbidities experienced the lowest barriers to end-of-life communication.Conclusion This study has found that there is a moderate end-of-life communication difficulty with cancer patients.Medical professionals should focus on these reasons and organize multidisciplinary collaboration with families,hospitals and social workers is essential to address the challenges.

With the increasing number of cancer patients in China, the lack of hospice communication between medical staff and cancer patients can easily cause doctor-patient conflicts. Facing the special group of cancer patients, by introducing the concept of hospice communication and comparing the current situation of hospice communication of cancer patients at home and abroad, this paper found the shortcomings of hospice communication between medical staff and cancer patients in China. This paper aimed to analyze the influencing factors of cancer patients’ hospice communication from three aspects of medical staff, cancer patients and social and cultural background, summarized the assessment tools and matters needing attention related to hospice communication, so as to provide reference for domestic medical staff to develop relevant tools for hospice communication with cancer patients, and help medical staff to implement more effective hospice communication with cancer patients in the context of tranquil care. It is also conducive to help patients open the topic of death from the perspective of doctors and build an open hospice communication environment that is more in line with national conditions of China.