National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference statement. Improving End-of-Life Care. December 6-8, 2004.

The draft conference statement is presented in its entirety. This report addresses five important questions, i.e. What defines the transition to end of life; What outcome variables are important indicators of the quality of the end-of-life experience for the dying person and for the surviving loved ones; What patient, family, and health care system factors are associated with improved or worsened outcomes; What processes and interventions are associated with improved or worsened outcomes; What are the future research directions for improving end-of-life care? The report includes conclusions, a list of panel members, speakers, the planning committee and conference sponsors.