Table 3.

Sub-theme no.1: Defining dementia as a terminal illness—brief summary and selected quotes from the interviews.

	Home hospice unit (HHU)	Home care unit (HCU)
Professional staff members (PSMs)	Briefly: in both, PSMs were on the continuum between the perception of dementia as a terminal illness or a non-threatening disease. The HHU PSM had a higher tendency toward terminality.
	I think dementia is erroneously not seen as a terminal illness, and it is very terminal, by definition, from the time it becomes moderate or severe it is a palliative disease and no longer a neurological disease. (Male physician)	It’s a disease, and you can’t predict what or when. It comes like waves or walking down the stairs. Sometimes the patient talks and recognizes you and suddenly there is a sharp drop. (Female nurse)
Family caregivers	Briefly: in both HHU/HCU family caregivers, less the 50% saw dementia as a terminal disease and only a few discussed it with the PSMs.
	It is not a disease that people die from. It affects the brain, the way they think. It can influence their ability to swallow, but there are ways to help them with that problem. (Jewish, secular, female, spouse) The word hospice is not suitable for this intervention.…. . We are here (under HHU care) because taking him to a hospital will kill him…he will die one day, but people with dementia can also live for 10 years. (Jewish, orthodox, female spouse)	My mom does not respond, she doesn’t talk or recognize anybody, she is nothing, an empty shell. She lost weight, she eats almost doesn’t nothing, but she is a healthy woman.…It is going to take years until she dies. (Jewish, religious, daughter)