#Life or death decisions synonym full#
#Life or death decisions synonym plus#
#Life or death decisions synonym free#

#Life or death decisions synonym free#

These included MediLexicon (2011), Medical Dictionary (WebMD, 2011), MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary (2011), and The Free Dictionary: Medical Dictionary (2011).ĭefinition(s) Proposed or Information Discussed The Google search engine was used to identify four online medical dictionaries based on criteria outlined by A Guide for Evaluating Health Web Sites provided by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine ( ). The print dictionaries were selected from a list of 26 based on their year of publication and authoritative publishers and included McGraw-Hill Allied Medical Dictionary (2008), Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary (2007), Black’s Medical Dictionary (2010), Mosby’s Medical Dictionary (2009), Stedman’s Medical Dictionary (2006), and Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary (2009). We also searched for definitions related to actively dying, end of life, terminally ill, terminal care, and transition of care in six print dictionaries and four online medical dictionaries.

#Life or death decisions synonym full#

We then retrieved the full article and extracted the definitions and/or key concepts related to each term. Any disagreements were discussed and a consensus reached. Publications were included if one of their objectives was to provide a definition or conceptualization for the terms of interest. In addition, we conducted a hand search of the reference lists of all included articles.Īfter the initial librarian search, two palliative care specialists independently reviewed the title and abstract of each citation for inclusion. The search was updated on September 2012. 2 We included all original studies, reviews, systematic reviews, guidelines, editorials, commentaries, and letters that specifically defined or conceptualized the terms of interest and excluded non-English articles, dissertations, conference abstracts, and duplicates.

#Life or death decisions synonym plus#

Our search strategy consisted of Medical Subject Headings and text word or text phrase for actively dying, end of life, terminally ill, terminal care, and transition of care, plus one of the following terms including “defin$,” “understanding,” “conceptualization,” “terminology,” and “nomenclature.” This methodology has previously been used for other palliative care terms. Between February 21, 2011, and April 18, 2011, we searched all available records in Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsycINFO, and EBSCOCINAHL from 1948 to 2011.

Anderson Cancer Center Institutional Review Board without the need for full committee review. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the published literature, medical dictionaries, textbooks, and organization Web sites for concepts and definitions for end of life, actively dying, terminally ill, terminal care, and transition of care. 1 A better understanding of the defining features and concepts for these five terms could help to standardize them and thus improve communication among clinicians, researchers, and policy makers. In a recent survey conducted by our team, palliative care specialists ranked the terms end of life, terminally ill, terminal care, actively dying, and transition of care highly in regard to both the frequency of use and the relative importance. This ambiguity results in confusion that may lead to delays and inconsistencies in arranging “terminal care” and facilitating “transition of care.” Ironically, these latter two terms also are poorly defined. The terms “end of life,” “terminally ill,” and “actively dying” have prognostic implications and are frequently used in clinical communications and published articles 1 however, the exact meaning of these terms is unclear. Many important health care decisions, such as those regarding chemotherapy use, hospice referral, advance care planning, discharge planning, and personal finances, are dependent on the expected survival duration. Prognostication of life expectancy is of the utmost importance to patients, families, and health care professionals, particularly in the setting of advanced disease.