Improving End-of-Life Care in the Digital Era
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Nursing".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 2
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioethics; medical ethics and environmental ethics; global justice and human
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: palliative care
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: health policy; health management; bioethics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Improvements in quality of life for terminally ill patients are designed to provide holistic care that addresses their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. Palliative care plays a crucial role and includes managing pain and other symptoms, providing emotional and spiritual support, and helping patients and families make informed decisions about their care. Open communication, personalized care plans, and access to appropriate resources are also key elements in enhancing the overall well-being of individuals facing a terminal illness. Empowering strategies such as advanced care planning are fundamental. This is a collaborative process of decision making in which patients and healthcare providers work together, identifying and documenting patient’s preferences for future medical care that is consistent with their goals and values in the context of serious life-threatening or life-limiting disease, so that patients can have the best possible health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Dignity therapy is also an option if this is the patient’s choice. This Special Issue will focus on these subjects in the context of the rapid evolution of the digital era. For instance, some individuals may find it comforting to have their life’s digital legacy remain online after death. Additionally, new technologies—such as artificial intelligence—may be helpful in providing better care to terminally ill patients.
Prof. Dr. Rui Nunes
Dr. Francisca Rego
Dr. Guilhermina Rego
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- palliative care
- dignity therapy
- advanced care planning
- spirituality
- spiritual counselling
- bioethics
- priorities in healthcare
- artificial intelligence
- symptom control
- quality of life
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