Process of dying. Defining characteristics.

Health professionals should not be forcing the terminal patient into preestablished stages, but rather should take into account the actual experiences of the individual. The purpose of this study was to identify the defining characteristics of the dying process within the terminal phase. A retrospective audit of 11 deceased clients' charts from a hospice program was conducted. Each client had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Defining characteristics of the process of dying were delineated and organized into groups of subjective and objective phenomena. These included anorexia, absence of pain, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, respiratory status, withdrawal of self, secretions, mental status, urinary output, restlessness, bowel sounds, blood pressure, internal temperature, skin temperature, skin color, edema, and diaphoresis. Although the sample size was small, these findings confirmed that the dying process for terminal cancer patients was an individualized experience. Additional research is needed to build on this framework.