Mechanisms of end-of-life communication contributing to optimal care at the end of life: a review of reviews

Background: End-of-life communication is an essential component of high-quality care, but its potential mechanisms for improving care are not well understood.

Objectives: To summarise the potential mechanisms by which end-of-life communication may contribute to enhanced end-of-life care in any setting.

Design: An overview of systematic reviews, with a narrative synthesis of results. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Study quality was assessed using the AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Reviews) tool.

Data sources: CINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane, SSCI and PsycINFO databases, were searched from inception to January 2024. Manual searches were also conducted.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Systematic reviews (published in English) related to end-of-life communication, where the target population was adult patients in their last year of life, relatives, caregivers and/or healthcare professionals involved in communicating with dying patients.

Results: We reviewed 35 eligible studies. The reviews suggest potential mechanisms of effective end-of-life communication including collaborative decision-making, tailoring communication to individuals, using effective communication strategies and incorporating communication skills into practice. The reviews also highlighted barriers related to patients, professionals and organisations.

Conclusion: This review highlights a nuanced understanding of potential mechanisms of end-of-life communication, emphasising the need for tailored training, policy enhancements and interprofessional collaboration. It calls on healthcare professionals to reflect on their practices, advocating for co-designing a person-centred communication model that addresses patient preferences at the end of life. Importantly, in culturally diverse contexts, there is a need for a communication paradigm that embraces diversity to provide truly empathetic and effective end-of-life care. This concise roadmap may foster compassionate, dignified and effective end-of-life communication.

Trial registration number: Protocol registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022271433, 29 March 2022).