Reframing, Refocusing, Referring, Reconciling, and Reflecting: Exploring Conflict Resolution Strategies in End-of-Life Situations

ABSTRACT

Many problems can occur between family members at the end of a patient’s life, resulting in conflict that others—the nurses, patient advocates, clergy, and social workers involved in the case—must resolve. This article explores the strategies used by those individuals to resolve conflict. Using grounded practical theory as a theoretical and methodological framework, qualitative interviews (n = 71) revealed how they manage family conflict at the end of life. The management styles include reframing, refocusing, referring, reconciling, and reflecting (the “5 Rs”). These strategies provide a conflict management typology for those who work with families during end-of-life situations.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Susan E. Morgan, Robert J. Green, Carrie D. Kennedy-Lightsey, and two anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggestions strengthened this article. This research was partially supported by a mini-grant from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Notes

¹ The 5 Rs are introduced in Hopeck (2016), which focuses on the implementation of conflict resolution systems in healthcare organizations. This article elaborates on the data collection method, includes a more in-depth analysis of the data, and extends the findings.

² Data on the number of participants in each category that utilize the 5 Rs is available by contacting the corresponding author.

³ Specific numbers are available from the corresponding author.