Concept analysis of good death in terminally ill patients.

The purpose of this concept analysis of good death was to examine the attributes of a good death and explore the changes of the concept over time and its impact on terminally ill patients. The method used for this analysis was the Rodgers' evolutionary method. A literature search was completed using Medline Ovid and Journal Storage (JSTOR).The findings describe the evolution of the good death concept over time from the prehistoric era followed by premodern, modern, and postmodern times. In addition, information is presented about surrogate terms, attributes, antecedents, and consequences associated with good death followed by analysis and discussion of the findings. General attributes of a good death include pain and symptom management, awareness of death, patient's dignity, family presence, family support, and communication among patient, family, and health care providers.