End-of-Life Phenomena (EOLP): Hospice Volunteer Research

I have been a hospice volunteer for 20 years, mainly giving bedside care to residents in Detroit, Michigan nursing homes. Most of my assigned hospice residents shared rooms with one to three other residents. During weekly visits, my residents and I have discussed numerous topics. Occasionally, conversations included end-of life phenomena (EOLP) in which they spoke about visiting or being visited by spirits. Discussions about spirits created opportunities for them to express emotions openly about death while reflecting on life. They enjoyed describing their visitors and their trips. Their detailed comments explained, not only whom they saw, but also their clothing, scenery, and pets. 

Many hospice volunteers and healthcare workers have had similar conversations with patients about these phenomena. Researched end-of-life phenomena (EOLP) surveying thirty-nine hospice volunteers revealed the following:

1) Forty-nine percent of the volunteers either had personally witnessed EOLP in their volunteer work and/or had a patient or patient's family member report EOLP to them. 

2) More than half of the volunteers agreed that EOLP influenced their religious beliefs and their spirituality in a positive way.

3) Eighty-nine percent of the volunteers indicated that they had never received any training about EOLP. Nearly all of the volunteers were interested in learning more about EOLP.

4) After completing the survey, fifty-nine percent of the volunteers shared EOLP stories they had either personally witnessed or heard. The most frequently reported experiences involved deathbed visions.

Deathbed visions have also been my own most frequent EOLP topic in conversations with my own residents. I understand that some people say these spirit sightings are medical, chemical reactions in the brain or hallucinations. I also know that others speaking from emotional, spiritual perspectives say they are angels, spirits, or ghosts who are there to connect with them. For all those reasons, I do think these sightings should be reported to appropriate healthcare workers. 

Personally, I go along with my residents’ EOLP explanations because the experiences have always been comforting and positive to them. I think about a Song of Solomon book quote from Nobel Laureate-winning author Toni Morrison: “What difference do it make if the thing you scared of is real or not?” In other words, these visions happen, and they are real to residents. Readers can draw their own conclusions:

(Below is an excerpt from my book Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes. )

“What did you do today?” I asked Rose after feeding her.

“Me? I’ve been spending time with my people. I enjoyed myself a lot.”

“Hey, that’s great. Did your relatives drive in from Chicago?”

“No, I went to heaven. It’s the nicest place, all clean and bright with beautiful scenery everywhere. I saw my family and plenty of my friends. They all wore long white gowns.”

“Wow! I guess that’s a place you’ll want to visit again.”

“Oh, I’ll definitely be going back. I’m planning to go stay there when I die. I’ll see if I can help you get in, too.”

“Thanks. I would really appreciate that.”

(It's good to have connections.)


Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
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