Table 3.

Sub category, Category and Major Themes of end-of-life care components

Major Themes	Category	Sub category
Principles of end-of-life care [4, 11, 14, 22–24, 33, 34]	Definition, objectives and history [23, 24]	Definition of end-of-life care [23, 24]
		A Historical overview of end-of-Life care [23, 24]
	The Process of Dying [4, 11, 23, 33]	Different aspects of death [4, 23, 33]
		Dignified death [4, 11]
	The role of the nurse in end-of-life care [4, 14, 22, 34]	The position of the nurse in end-of-life care [4]
		Essential nursing skills for end-of-life care [14, 22, 34]
Communication skills [11–14, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 31, 33, 34].	Principles of effective communication [11, 13, 14, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 31, 33, 34]	Patient [11, 14, 20, 22, 23, 25, 28, 33]
		Caregivers [14, 20, 22, 23, 25, 31, 33]
		Healthcare team [11, 13, 26, 34]
	Facilitators and barriers to therapeutic communication with the dying patient [11–13, 22, 28, 29, 34]	Facilitators [11–13, 28, 29, 34]
		Barriers [12, 22, 29]
Physical considerations [6,8,12,14,21,23,24,25,26, 28,29,31,32,33]	Pain management [8, 14, 21, 24, 26, 29, 31–33]	Pharmaceutical treatments [8, 14, 21, 24, 31–33]
		Non-pharmacological treatments [21, 24, 26, 29, 31]
	Nutritional management [6, 24]	Oral nutrition [6, 24]
		Total parenteral nutrition [6]
	Respiratory management [6, 8, 21, 24, 25, 28, 33]	Pharmaceutical treatments [6, 8, 21, 24, 25, 33]
		Non-pharmacological treatments [6, 8, 24, 28]
	Skin care [6, 12, 21, 25, 28, 33]	Prevention of skin problems [6, 25, 28, 33]
		Treatment of skin disorders [12, 21, 25, 28, 33]
	Management of disposal problems [6, 23–25, 29]	Urinary incontinence [6, 29]
		Fecal incontinence [6, 24, 25, 29]
Psychosocial and Spiritual considerations 3,6,8,12,13,20,21,22, 24,25,26,27,29,30,31,32]	Management of Anxiety [3, 6, 12, 21, 25, 26, 31]	Pharmaceutical treatments [3, 6, 12, 31]
		Non-pharmacological treatments [3,31,25,26
	Management of Depression [3, 21, 25, 26]	Pharmaceutical treatments [3, 21]
		Non-pharmacological treatments [3, 25, 26]
	Management of emotional distress [26, 27, 32]	Coping skills [26, 27, 32]
	Patient-centered Care [20, 22, 30]	Ways to maintain maximum patient independence [20, 22, 30]
	Family-centered care [20, 30]	Methods of involving the family in the care process [20, 30]
	Spiritual care [3, 8, 13, 24, 25, 31, 32]	Responding to the spiritual needs [3, 8, 13, 31, 32]
		Responding to the epistemological needs [3, 13, 24, 25]
Ethical considerations [3, 8, 13, 23, 24, 29–31, 33, 34]	Ethical principles [3, 8, 23, 30, 31, 33]	Four ethical principles (Autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice) [3, 8, 23, 30, 31, 33]
	Ethical challenges [3, 8, 13, 24, 29, 30, 34]	Advanced care planning [3, 8, 24, 30]
		Withholding and withdrawing treatment [13, 24, 29, 34]
After-death care [3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 21, 23, 24, 29, 32, 34]	Corpse care [6]	Considerations for the care of the corpse [6]
	Legal considerations [3, 12, 21]	Legal issues after death [3, 12, 21]
	Support the family of the deceased [8, 23, 29]	Improving empathy skills [8, 23, 29]
	Loss and mourning [4, 6, 8, 12, 23, 24, 29, 32, 34]	Management of loss and mourning in the family [4, 6, 8, 12, 23, 24, 29, 32, 34]