Deathbed visions: A study of hospice palliative care volunteers' experiences, perspectives, and reactions

Abstract

Deathbed visions (DBVs) are visits from deceased loved ones or religious figures. They are one of the most reported end-of-life experiences. Because of their unique role at the bedside of the dying, hospice palliative care (HPC) volunteers are well-positioned to witness or be told about DBVs. Eleven female HPC volunteers were interviewed separately about their experiences, perspectives, and reactions to patients’ DBVs. Responding to 14 guiding questions, the volunteers shared 20 stories of their experiences with dying persons’ DBVs and talked about, among other things, the impact of these experiences on their patients and themselves. The most reported visitors were deceased family members (e.g., parents, siblings). The volunteers described their patients’ visions as having a mostly positive impact (e.g., comforting) on the dying. For themselves, their patients’ DBVs also had a positive impact (e.g., made them less afraid to die). All the volunteers provided spiritual explanations for DBVs. Nearly all volunteers said they would not initiate conversations with their patients about DBVs, but would respond to patient reports of DBVs by, for example, listening, asking questions and not being dismissive of their experiences. The implications of the findings are discussed.