Digital Commons Network^™

The Perspectives Of Provisionally Registered Psychologists On Voluntary Assisted Dying In Australia: An In-Depth Qualitative Investigation, Ker-Ni Vivienne Heng, Eyal Gringart

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In Australia, voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is now widely legalised, and VAD uptake is on the rise. Thus, the demand for psychological support in the context of VAD is expected to grow. Despite their relevant expertise, psychologists remain underrepresented in end-of-life (EOL) literature and practice. The current in-depth qualitative study examined the perspectives of 20 provisionally registered psychologists in Australia on VAD, using reflexive thematic analysis grounded in social constructionism. Four main themes (‘Values’, ‘Fit-for-Role’, ‘Exposure’, and ‘Contributions’) and 14 sub-themes were generated from the data. Participants supported availing VAD for terminally ill patients and expressed the potential for its …

Nurses’ Perceptions Of Using Volunteer Support In Health Care Settings: A Systematic Scoping Review, Kate Crookes, Rosemary Saunders, Vivien Kemp, Olivia Gallagher, Manonita Ghosh, Caroline Bulsara, Karen Gullick, Bev O'Connell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aims: To understand nurses’ perceptions of volunteer support in health care settings. Background: Increasingly, volunteers provide specialised support to health care service users, requiring volunteers and nurses to work closely together. However, little is known about nurses’ perceptions of volunteer support. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR checklist. A mixed-methods convergent integrative approach was taken guided by the JBI framework. Quantitative data were transformed into qualitative data for synthesis and descriptive thematic analysis. Six databases were searched (CINHAL+, EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, ProQuest Health and Medical Collection) on 24 January 2022 using terms related to nurses, perceptions, …

Survey Of Attitudes Toward Performing And Reflecting On Required Team Service-Learning (Sasl): Psychometric Data And Reliability/Validity For Healthcare Professions Students In Preclinical Courses, Lon J. Van Winkle, Shane L. Rogers, Bradley O. Thornock, Brian D. Schwartz, Alexis Horst, Jensen A. Fisher, Nicole Michels

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: Previously we assessed healthcare professional students’ feelings about team-based learning, implicit bias, and service to the community using an in-house paper survey. In this study, we determined whether this survey is a reliable and valid measure of prospective medical students’ attitudes toward required service-learning in an Immunology course. To our knowledge, no published questionnaire has been shown to be dependable and useful for measuring such attitudes using only eight survey items. Methods: Fifty-eight prospective medical students in Colorado (CO) and 15 in Utah (UT) completed the same Immunology course using remote technology. In addition to the usual course content, …

Palliative Care Early In The Care Continuum Among Patients With Serious Respiratory Illness An Official Ats/Aahpm/Hpna/Swhpn Policy Statement, Donald R. Sullivan, Anand S. Iyer, Susan Enguidanos, Christopher E. Cox, Morag Farquhar, Daisy J. A. Janssen, Kathleen O. Lindell, Richard A. Mularski, Natasha Smallwood, Alison E. Turnbull, Anne M. Wilkinson, Katherine R. Courtright, Matthew Maddocks, Mary Lynn Mcpherson, J. Daryl Thornton, Margaret L. Campbell, Tracy K. Fasolino, Patricia M. Fogelman, Larry Gershon, Thayer Gershon, Christiane Hartog, Judy Luther, Diane E. Meier, Judith E. Nelson, Elliot Rabinowitz, Cynda H. Rushton, Danetta H. Sloan, Erin K. Kross, Lynn F. Reinke

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background:

Patients with serious respiratory illness and their caregivers suffer considerable burdens, and palliative care is a fundamental right for anyone who needs it. However, the overwhelming majority of patients do not receive timely palliative care before the end of life, despite robust evidence for improved outcomes.

Goals:

This policy statement by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and partnering societies advocates for improved integration of high-quality palliative care early in the care continuum for patients with serious respiratory illness and their caregivers and provides clinicians and policymakers with a framework to accomplish this.

Methods:

An international and interprofessional expert committee, …

Health-Services Utilisation Amongst Older Persons During The Last Year Of Life: A Population-Based Study, Danielle Ní Chróinín, David E. Goldsbury, Alexander Beveridge, Patricia M. Davidson, Afaf Girgis, Nicholas Ingham, Jane L. Phillips, Anne M. Wilkinson, Jane M. Ingham, Dianne L. O'Connell

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

BACKGROUND: Accurate population-based data regarding hospital-based care utilisation by older persons during their last year of life are important in health services planning. We investigated patterns of acute hospital-based service use at the end of life, amongst older decedents in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

METHODS: Data from all persons aged ≥70 years who died in the state of NSW Australia in 2007 were included. Several measures of hospital-based service utilisation during the last year of life were assessed from retrospectively linked data comprising data for all registered deaths, cause of death, hospital care during the last year of life …

Understanding Palliative Care: An Ethnographic Study Of Three Australian Palliative Care Services, Judith M. Greaves

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Palliative care commenced in Australia in the early 1980s. Although the value of palliative care has become more widely recognised by the public and other health care professionals, there is still a lack of understanding about what palliative care is and the depth and scope of this specialty area of health care. The research that I present in this thesis is based on examination of palliative care practice in a selection of Australian services, undertaken with the aim of enhancing understanding of Palliative Care. The significance of the research arises from the notion that members of the Australian community should …

Providing Education And Support For Rural Palliative Care Nurses In Western Australia: An Intervention Study, Ruth Mcconigley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Rural palliative care nurses (RPCNs) in Western Australia (WA) are a small population, who have embraced the specialist palliative care role since the first palliative care service in rural WA began in 1990. However, there are some challenges involved with being a specialist nurse in a generalist health care setting. fu particular, there is a suggestion in the literature that RPCNs may be professionally isolated, may be prone to burnout, and may therefore experience decreased job satisfaction and may consider leaving the palliative care field.

General Practitioners' Attitudes To Palliative Care : A Regional Perspective, Richelle Lee-Steere

Theses : Honours

The study explores regional general practitioners' attitudes to palliative care through semi- structured interviewing using a qualitative methodology. Attitudes to palliative care were examined using the general practitioners' accounts of their experiences and perceptions of caring for terminally ill patients. The participants were ten registered general practitioners located within the Greater Sunbury Division of General Practice in the South West of Western Australia. A semi-structured interview schedule containing ten open-ended questions was used to assess regional general practitioners' attitudes to palliative care. Examples of the research questions included: What are regional general practitioners' attitudes to palliative care? What supports are …

Rural Palliative Care Nursing: A Modified Grounded Theory Study, Ruth Mcconigley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This paper presents the findings of a study of rural palliative care nurses in Western Australia. The numbers of rural centres in Western Australia offering palliative care services are increasing; however at present there is little empirical data available about the roles of the nurses involved. This study was undertaken to begin to correct this deficit. The study examines basic social processes associated with the role of rural palliative care nurses and identities issues that affect the nurses’ professional practice. A modified grounded theory approach was used to form a conceptual framework that describes rural palliative care nursing. Theoretical sampling …

Home Hospice Cancer Care: Family Members' Expectations, Perceptions And Satisfaction With Care, Kristina Medigovich

Theses : Honours

Increasingly, there is greater expectation by the public, as health consumers, that they will receive care from health professionals which meets their expectations and does not leave them dissatisfied. The stress experienced by families caring for a family member with advanced cancer may be complicated when they are dissatisfied with care received from health care professionals. To further promote family satisfaction it is important therefore for health professionals to understand the theoretical underpinning of family satisfaction with care. One theoretical explanation of family member satisfaction with advanced cancer care in the palliative care setting, Porter's Discrepancy Theory, was investigated in …

Attitudes Of Nurses To Palliative Care In Nursing Homes In The Perth Metropolitan Region, Lynne Cohen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Zanna and Rempel (1988) have proposed that attitudes are a summary evaluation of an attitude object based on three classes of information, namely: cognitive information, affective information and behavioural information. This model has mainly been tested in the social groups and social policies area investigating two classes of information: cognitive and affective, and therefore there is a need for research to test the validity of this model in other areas. The present study applies the model to the area of palliative care in nursing homes. 76 directors of nursing, 76 clinical nurse specialists, and 76 nursing assistants working in nursing …

Needs Of Terminally Ill Cancer Patients In An In-Patient Hospice Unit, Marylynn C. Oldham

Theses : Honours

In Western Australia, in-patient hospice/palliative care units are caring for increasing numbers of terminally ill cancer patients. Hospice philosophy is based on the belief that the terminally ill patient in individual needs are of paramount importance. The needs of advanced cancer patients have been researched in the home, for patients continuing or having completed curative treatment, and for patients receiving palliative care. However, there is a lack of literature about the needs of terminally ill cancer patients in in-patient hospices. Using a descriptive approach, this study investigated the needs of six terminally ill cancer patients in a 26 bed in-patient …