# Legacy Building from the Perspective of Palliative Care Professionals in Portugal: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis

## TL;DR

This study explores how palliative care professionals in Portugal help patients and families create meaningful legacies during end-of-life care.

## Contribution

It provides new insights into the experiences and challenges of professionals in facilitating legacy-building in palliative care.

## Key findings

- Legacy creation is seen as a meaningful resource for connecting with patients and families.
- Three main themes emerged: the worth of legacy, enablers, and challenges in the legacy-building process.
- Professionals believe legacy-building supports value-concordant, person-centered care.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: Legacy planning should respect te care preferences of people facing serious illness and integrate palliative care (PC). Legacy creation with the guidance of health professionals in PC assumes a therapeutic nature and aims to respond to the psychospiritual needs of patients and their families. To date, research on professional experiences to create legacy in PC remains scarce. Therefore, this study sought to explore the experiences of PC professionals in legacy creation with the ill person and their family during EoL care. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was performed through in-person semi-structured interviews with PC professionals from Portugal. Data collection was conducted from February to May 2025. Transcripts from the interviews were thematically analyzed with qualitative data management software WebQDA. The study adhered to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) guidelines. Results: Sixteen PC professionals participated in the study. Most participants were nurses (n = 8), followed by six physicians and two psychologists. The mean age of participants was 44.93 ± 10.46 years. Data analysis yielded three themes: (1) the worth of legacy in EoL; (2) enablers of legacy-building process; and (3) challenges of legacy-building process. Conclusions: Legacy is a meaningful resource that gives professionals the opportunity to connect with patients and their families, and to enact value-concordant person-centered care. By providing a greater grasp of legacy construction, our findings may help healthcare providers better understand how to provide dying patients and their families with dignity-conserving care.