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Posts tagged ‘Zahra Rahemi’

Jun 7

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End-of-Life Care Terminology


Zahra Rahemi

Our current featured article is titled “End-of-Life Care Terminology: A Scoping Review” authored by Zahra Rahemi, PhD, RN andTracy Fasolino, PhD, FNP-BC, ACHPN. The article is available at no cost while it is featured, and we welcome your comments in response! Here is a message that Dr. Rahemi provided about their work:

End of life care research mostly focuses on end-of-life care options, cost of care, and advance care planning. However, the type of language and terminology that is used in end-of-life care literature and advance care planning forms is overlooked. The terminology used regarding end-of-life care options can convey positive, negative, or neutral meanings. For example, the term “intensive care” might convey a negative connotation compared to “comfort care”. Using these two terms in advance care planning forms and literature may influence individuals’ understanding and decisions about preferred end-of-life care options. Terminology and language are important in caring and nursing sciences, especially in the field of end-of-life care wherein the importance of culture and diversity is emphasized. The focus of this scoping review is to recommend healthcare professional, researchers, and policy makers to use neutral connotative language and terms when designing end-of-life care or advance care planning methods.

Apr 26

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Ethnic Diversity and Advanced Health-related Decisions


Our latest featured article it titles “Health-Related Decisions for Serious Illness Among Ethnically Diverse Older Adults” by Zahra Rahemi, PhD, RN; Christine Lisa Williams, DNSc, RN, PMHCNS; Ruth Marchand Tappen, EdD, RN, FAAN and Gabriella Anna Engstrom, PhD. The article is available for free download while it is featured, and we welcome your comments here! In this article, the authors discuss the evidence from their study that supports the great variability in individual situations at the end of life, and the importance of nursing care that remains responsive to each particular situation.  Dr. Rahemi provided this background for ANS reviewers:

Universally, the population of older adults is dramatically growing. In the United States, culturally and ethnically diverse older adults are one of the fastest growing population. Cultural factors, including ethnicity, acculturation, and spirituality, have significant influence on diverse older adults and how and what they plan for their healthcare. Therefore, there is a need for multiple care options to avoid predetermined clinical practice guidelines for ethnically diverse older adults.

Cultural beliefs and value systems frequently prevent people from healthcare service use and healthcare decision making, which contribute to healthcare disparities for ethnically diverse older adults. In my current studies, I am interested in investigating factors that are pivotal for communication of decisions in advance. Innovative strategies to help individuals determine their goals of care are needed to clarify health-related decisions that ethnically diverse individuals may find challenging to articulate. Because ethnically diverse communities have strong family ties in general, the authors encourage informal and general discussions about goals of care among these communities. These conversations may ultimately inform significant others who are called upon to make decisions when older adults cannot. The new strategies recommended in this study may open new venues for professional development in nursing and ultimately promote culturally competent care.

In the field of ethnically diverse older adults and their healthcare decisions and preferences, the I started with a broad literature review and an integrative review that was published in ANS. Later, I continued my research in different ethnically diverse communities using different lenses, such as end-of-life preferences, health-related decisions for serious illness, and attitudes and behaviors regarding planning ahead for end-of-life care. I hope to introduce more innovative strategies to encourage ethnically diverse older adults to communicate their desired care choice when they are capable to communicate.

 

Jan 23

End-of-Life Preferences in Underrepresented Populations


The article titled “Older Adults of Underrepresented Populations and Their End-of-Life Preferences: An Integrative Review” by Zahra Rahemi, MSN and Christine Lisa Williams, DNSc, RN, PMHCNS is the current ANS featured article.  It is available for no-cost download while it is featured on our website. This article emphasizes the importance of culturally congruent care in end-of-life situations. Here is a brief message from the authors about their work:

Nurses are in the frontline of care, especially end-of-life care wherein medical treatments are often no longer effective. As the U.S. society progressively becomes ethnically diverse and aged, addressing diversities of end-of-life preferences among older adults of different communities is paramount to ensure equity of care at the end of life. In the article, “Older Adults of Underrepresented Populations and Their End-of-Life Preferences: An Integrative Review,” we performed a broad literature review to explore diversities of ethnically diverse older adults’ end-of-life preferences based on a repertoire of current and rigorous studies. This study can contribute to advancement of nursing knowledge regarding culturally competent care at end of life. In this article, we argue that health preferences and decisions vary due to ethnicity and race. We propose healthcare providers and researchers reflect on different choices and possibilities to provide the context for culturally congruent care and reducing disparities.

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