Resolving End-of-Life Ethical Concerns: Important Palliative Care Practice Development Issues for Acute Medicine in Australia

Historically palliative care research has focused on issues associated within the hospice and palliative care system. The findings presented in this manuscript reverse this assumption to argue that significant palliative care issues can only be understood if the focus is on the acute care system. Although a major proportion of deaths happen in the acute hospital setting, the acute care clinicians are the gate keepers to the palliative system. In short, understanding the ethical decision making of acute care professionals in relation to end-of-life care can illuminate many important palliative care practice development issues. The findings indicate that all professional groups in this study of an acute medical ward find end-of-life issues the most challenging of all the ethical challenges.