Understanding experiences of the radiography workforce delivering medical imaging as part of patients' end of life care: An exploratory qualitative interview study

Introduction: People nearing the end of life often require medical imaging in hospitals to manage symptoms and care, despite this little is known about the experiences of those delivering it. The aim of this study is therefore to explore the experiences of the radiography workforce delivering medical im-aging as part of patients' end-of-life care.Method: Qualitative design using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. A total of 8 partic-ipants participated in the study including registered diagnostic radiographers (n = 5), imaging assistants (n = 2) and assistant practitioners (n = 1). All have been involved in the medical imaging of patients receiving end of life care in UK hospitals.Results: Findings identified an absence of end of life care policy guidance and education accessible to radiography staff, limiting their ability to provide evidenced based care for those nearing the end of life during medical imaging examinations. Findings also suggest difficulty in identifying patients receiving end of life care further hindered staffs' ability to adapt their care to provide a more person-centred approach. Lastly, the workforce felt an accumulative emotional burden following their interactions with patients nearing the end of life.Conclusion: There is a clear need to develop policy and education to support the radiography workforce to ensure care is appropriately identified and adapted to those nearing the end of life. Furthermore, staff support and wellbeing needs to be considered.Implications for practice: Future research is required exploring the patient perspective to understand their experiences so that the education and practice provision is driven by patient need. International exploration of end of life care in medical imaging is recommended to explore whether similar challenges related to clinical practice exist in other countries.(c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The College of Radiographers. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study aims to explore the experiences of the radiography workforce delivering medical imaging for patients nearing the end of life. The findings reveal a lack of policy guidance and education for end-of-life care among radiography staff, hindering their ability to provide evidence-based care. Additionally, difficulty in identifying patients receiving end-of-life care further limits the staff's ability to provide person-centred care. The workforce also experiences an emotional burden following interactions with patients nearing the end of life.