{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T11:56:35Z","timestamp":1790682995955,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790640000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of Advanced Nursing"],"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To explore nurses' perspectives on decision\u2010making processes and influencing factors when caring for unresponsive dying patients in the last days of life.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A qualitative interpretive study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using purposive recruitment and informal peer referral, twenty\u2010one nurses from a specialist palliative care service in a metropolitan city in Australia were interviewed between July 2024 and January 2025. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Decision\u2010making theory was used as an interpretive lens.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Findings<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Two themes were generated: \u2018The patient as an absent presence\u2019 and \u2018Enacting agency through embodied cognition and relational attunement\u2019, together with five interconnected subthemes. The analysis highlighted the importance of knowing the patient's cues and wishes. The data linked nurses' decision\u2010making to both relational and communication processes, particularly in the context of family engagement and the care needs of the unresponsive dying patient. Other influences included uncertainty and the nurse's own professional practice.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Nurses' decision\u2010making when caring for the unresponsive dying patient is complex. Decision\u2010making evolves through the nurse's intentionality in assessment, communication skills, accommodation of uncertainty, and through implicit ethical and moral agency. Recognising the vulnerability of unresponsive dying patients is essential to supporting person\u2010centred care.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Implications for the Profession and\/or Patient Care<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This research contributes valuable new insights into decision\u2010making by nurses caring for a largely under\u2010researched vulnerable population. Strengthening nurses' decision\u2010making may support more timely recognition of care needs, improve assessment and management of distress or discomfort, promote person\u2010centred care, and enhance communication with families when patients are in the final days of life.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Impact<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study explored nurse decision\u2010making among a vulnerable population of unresponsive dying patients. Creating relationships with the patient and their family through effective communication, informed and influenced nurses' decision\u2010making. Patients die in many different health care settings. This research foregrounds the need for enhanced nurse decision\u2010making when caring for unresponsive dying patients and their families.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Reporting Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The research team adhered to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Patient or Public Contribution<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct, or reporting.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/jan.70766","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T11:02:55Z","timestamp":1790679775000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["When Dying Patients Fall Silent: How Nurses Navigate Decision\u2010Making in the Last Days of Life\u2014A Qualitative Study"],"prefix":"10.1111","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6770-8295","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tricia","family":"O'Connor","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Flinders LiveWell Cancer Research Centre, Caring Futures Institute Flinders University  Adelaide South Australia Australia"},{"name":"Clare Holland House Canberra Health Services  Canberra ACT Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4930-3470","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aileen","family":"Collier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death and Dying, College of Health and Enablement Flinders University  Adelaide Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3123-8778","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karen","family":"Strickland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing and Midwifery Edith Cowan University  Perth Western Australia Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0250-1848","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Thamm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Flinders LiveWell Cancer Research Centre, Caring Futures Institute Flinders University  Adelaide South Australia Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1249-6782","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catherine","family":"Paterson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Flinders LiveWell Cancer Research Centre, Caring Futures Institute Flinders University  Adelaide South Australia Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/nicc.12141"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12912\u2010024\u201002087\u20105"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/nop2.70129"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/jpm.2025.0174"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jan.70061"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/3462928"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1468794112468475"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/NJH.0000000000000264"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598\u2010020\u201067234\u20109"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-69909-7_3470-2","volume-title":"Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide","author":"Braun V.","year":"2022"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/02692163241234800"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0885\u20103924(03)00286\u20100"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/02692163251411090"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12904\u2010023\u201001168\u20107"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_16_1","volume-title":"Mind Over Machine: The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the Era of the Computer","author":"Dreyfus H. 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