Also called: Death and dying · Terminal care
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About End of Life Issues
Planning for the end of life can be difficult. But by deciding what end-of-life care best suits your needs when you are healthy, you can help those close to you make the right choices when the time comes.
End-of-life planning usually includes making choices about the following:
- The goals of care (for example, whether to use certain medicines during the last days of life)
- Where you want to spend your final days
- Which treatments for end-of-life care you wish to receive
- What type of palliative care and hospice care you wish to receive
Advance directives can help make your wishes clear to your family and health care providers.
It sits within Social/Family Issues and Personal Health Issues.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Nursing Research.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on End of Life Issues
11 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Life and Death Care, Reflection and Teaching Practice Integrating New Coronavirus Pneumonia IssuesChang Gung Memorial Hospital
Research already completed
- Wellness and Distress in Health Care Professionals Dealing With End of Life and Bioethical IssuesIstituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA
- South Florida Residents Knowledge and Opinions on End-of-Life IssuesMaria Isabel Fernandez
- IssuEs in Palliative Care for People in Advanced and Terminal Stages of Young-onset and Late-Onset Dementia in GErmanyTechnical University of Munich
- Autologous Cord Blood Cells for Prevention of BPD in Pretermyangjie
- Safety of Autologous Cord Blood Cells for Preterm Infants.Guangdong Women and Children Hospital
- Improving Communication About Serious IllnessUniversity of Washington
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Advanced Illness: Holding on and Letting GoFamily Caregiver Alliance
- End of LifeNational Institute on Aging
- End-of-Life Care for People Who Have CancerNational Cancer Institute
- Last Days of LifeNational Cancer Institute
- Preparations as You Near the End of LifeAmerican Cancer Society
- Providing Care and Comfort at the End of LifeNational Institute on Aging
Related Issues
- Brain DeathNational Kidney Foundation
- Living Well with a Serious IllnessAmerican College of Physicians
- Planning Your Own FuneralFederal Trade Commission
- Shopping for Funeral ServicesFederal Trade Commission
- Types of FuneralsFederal Trade Commission
- What to Do after Someone DiesNational Institute on Aging
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Terminal CareNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Death. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for End of Life Issues, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.