Table 5 Comments from bereaved family on the short version of the GDI questionnaire

Patient 1: GDI 68 points, 81 years, male, postoperative rectal cancer, died in another hospital 247 days after surgery due to the primary disease.

He was transferred to another hospital because he had a history of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which worsened with the original disease.

Comment: “Thank you very much for providing sufficient treatment for my late father at the end of his life. Thank you very much.”

Patient 2: GDI 62 points, 69 years, male, cervical spinal cord injury in an accident, pulmonary embolism, died in hospital 18 days after surgery.

He was independent in activities of daily living (ADL) before the operation, had a wish to prolong his life before his death, and applied for a donation.

Comment: “This hospitalization helped me to reconcile with my son with whom I had a quarrel, to talk with my daughter about marriage and work, to talk about our 30 years of marriage on the day of the sudden change. I think my husband felt he was dying and was preparing to leave.”

Patient 3: GDI 37 points, 82 years, male, abdominal aortic aneurysm, after hospital discharge and home nursing intervention, admitted to another hospital.

He died 91 days after surgery due to interstitial pneumonia and was independent in ADL before surgery.

Comment: “To keep the intravenous injection on, he had to wear gloves, be tied to a fence, and were constrictive clothing. I think it was very difficult for her both physically and mentally.”

Patient 4: GDI 27 points, 61 years, male, septicemia from necrosis of the lower leg, tracheostomy, died in hospital 95 days after surgery.

Comment: “It was hard watching the doctor give up through the tracheostomy. Some of the nurses talked to my husband and myself, while others just did their job in silence. I didn’t feel good about the way they called the feeding tube.”

There were messages from 13 cases in the free comment section of the short version of the GDI questionnaire. The two cases with the highest and two cases with the lowest scores were selected from these.