April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: “I regret having the ‘last talk,’ honestly”: Final Conversations and Making Sense of the Loss of a Parent
The current study examines adult children’s experiences with the loss of a parent. To guide the study, we look to final conversations and the opportunity model for presence during the end-of-life process (OMP; Scheinfeld et al., 2023; Tenzek & Depner, 2017). While final conversations have been studied over the past 20 years and the content of conversations is understood to fall within six distinct topics (see Keeley & Generous, 2017), what is less understood is what happens after final conversations in the larger sociocultural context of meaning making for survivors. Final conversations have been associated with positive outcomes such as personal growth and coping (Generous & Keeley, 2021; Generous & Keeley, 2022). That being said, there is also a thread of research examining the ideas of what conversations people intentionally avoided to preserve relationships and not create additional stress or tensions at EOL (Generous & Keeley, 2017; Scheinfeld et al., 2023). Therefore, even though final conversations could be helpful at EOL, it is not guaranteed that engaging in certain EOL conversations will have intended or positive outcomes, therefore we contribute to understanding the outcomes of EOL communication through the lens of FCs (content) by applying the OMP (process) to adult children’s experiences with loss of a parent.
The OMP is a model specifically for engaging in communication throughout the EOL process derived from the good death literature (see Steinhasuer et al., 2000; Tenzek & Depner, 2017; Tenzek et al., 2022). The main premise of the model is that we are surrounded by socio-cultural factors that shape our thoughts and beliefs about death and dying, such as the media, religion, culture, and even health literacy. We enter into the dying process surrounded by those elements and there are specific critical moments that shape the EOL trajectory, including place of care, knowledge of family member dying, and moment of death. The argument is that if one is engaged, i.e present, verbally or nonverbally, at those moments, the engagement is higher, while the opposite creates lower engagement and thus a bad death experience. Importantly the model extends into bereavement, which (re)shapes ones’ sociocultural beliefs about EOL. Recent research that combines FCs and OMP found that there was overlap in FCs and critical moments, and adult children relied on previous messages that parents had shared about EOL preferences that at the time, weren’t seen as relevant, but during the EOL process, actually became helpful guides for parents’ wishes if they were not or willing to communicate specifically about what they wanted.
Here we continue this line of inquiry to look at final conversations, place of EOL conversations and knowledge of family members EOL status, extending this into regrets or wishes for having done things differently. We have collected over 200 responses using Qualtrics and are set to begin qualitative analyze. We will present our findings and discuss implications for EOL communication theory and practical outcomes for health care providers and family members.
The OMP is a model specifically for engaging in communication throughout the EOL process derived from the good death literature (see Steinhasuer et al., 2000; Tenzek & Depner, 2017; Tenzek et al., 2022). The main premise of the model is that we are surrounded by socio-cultural factors that shape our thoughts and beliefs about death and dying, such as the media, religion, culture, and even health literacy. We enter into the dying process surrounded by those elements and there are specific critical moments that shape the EOL trajectory, including place of care, knowledge of family member dying, and moment of death. The argument is that if one is engaged, i.e present, verbally or nonverbally, at those moments, the engagement is higher, while the opposite creates lower engagement and thus a bad death experience. Importantly the model extends into bereavement, which (re)shapes ones’ sociocultural beliefs about EOL. Recent research that combines FCs and OMP found that there was overlap in FCs and critical moments, and adult children relied on previous messages that parents had shared about EOL preferences that at the time, weren’t seen as relevant, but during the EOL process, actually became helpful guides for parents’ wishes if they were not or willing to communicate specifically about what they wanted.
Here we continue this line of inquiry to look at final conversations, place of EOL conversations and knowledge of family members EOL status, extending this into regrets or wishes for having done things differently. We have collected over 200 responses using Qualtrics and are set to begin qualitative analyze. We will present our findings and discuss implications for EOL communication theory and practical outcomes for health care providers and family members.