Glossary

Acute grief: Grief that begins immediately after the death of a loved one and includes the separation response and response to stress.

Advance directive: Legal documents that direct care when the patient can no longer advocate for themselves. Examples include a healthcare power of attorney, and a living will.

Anticipatory grief: Grief that occurs before loss, often associated with a terminal diagnosis, and may be experienced by the patient, family, or caregivers.

Comfort care: A term used in acute care settings when the focus of patient care turns to palliative or hospice support.

Compassion fatigue: A state of chronic and continuous self-sacrifice and/or prolonged exposure to difficult situations that affect a health care professional’s physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being

Complicated grief: Grief that is more prolonged or intense due to interference in the grieving process.  It may include guilt, preoccupation with certain elements, and negative emotions.

Disenfranchised grief: Grief that cannot be validated due to circumstances of the death.  This can include individuals in severed or socially unsanctioned relationships (ex-partners or extramarital partners) or loved ones whose loss was due to stigmatized illnesses or events.

Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order: A legal order, with permission of the patient, that instructs the healthcare professional not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should the patient’s heart stop beating.

Grief: The common feelings, behaviors, thoughts, and reactions to loss.

Healthcare power of attorney: A legal order that identifies a trusted individual to carry out actions and make decisions when the patient can no longer speak for themselves.

Hospice care: A type of palliative care for patients who are terminally ill and not expected to live longer than 6 months.  It is focused on symptom control, pain relief, and quality of life.

Living will: A legal document that describes the patient’s wishes if they are no longer able to communicate for themselves.

Loss: Absence of a possession or person, or future possession, resulting in grief.

Mourning: The outward, social expression of loss based on cultural and social norms, customs, and practices.

Palliative care: A philosophy of care that focuses on improving the quality of life in patients and their families when facing a life-threatening illness. It may include curative and supportive treatments.