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Learner-Based Teaching In Hospice And Palliative Care, Paul D. Longenecker

Health and Sport Sciences Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Communication Metaphor Of Patient Prognosis In The Spirit Of Hope, Dory Hanks

Theses and Graduate Projects

Prognosis for terminally ill patients is intended to serve the purpose of educating patients on the expected clinical outcome of their illness. This information is generally communicated to a patient by their primary physician when options for fufiher treattnent or "cure" are limited. Learning a prognosis may be helpful to some patients, while burdensome to others. A review of the literature reveals many barriers to effective communication of prognosis. The purpose of this project is to develop a metaphor for enhanced communication of prognosis to be used by hospice nurses that incorporates a caring perspective on living with hope during …

Medication Cost And Utilization In Hospice Care: An Analysis Of 2007 Claims Data, Rachi Parekh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives:

1. Describe patient-related and hospice-related characteristics such as gender, average length of hospice stay, primary diagnoses, average daily census, number of admissions per year, net operating revenues, inpatient unit (IPU) operating costs, and medication expenditures of hospices in Ohio and compare it with NHPCO data.

2. Identify and analyze therapeutic drug classes and medications with the most frequent utilization rates and largest percentage of expenditures in hospice care.

Method:

Hospice Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM) employ pharmacists to provide comprehensive pharmaceutical care services for patients under hospice care and one component of pharmacist provided services include comprehensive medication review. To …

Two Cultures Of Caring: A Comparative Study, Lisa Armstrong, Chistina Polito

Honors Theses and Capstones

There is much that the UK and the US could and should learn from each other to understand the quality of end-of-life care, through comparison of practice, analysis of care patterns and via original research (Higginson, 2005, p.170). Although comparisons between end-of-life care in the United Kingdom and United States have demonstrated similarities and disparities in many contexts, there is little evidence of research that directly compares nursing perspectives between the two Atlantic partners. This research explores nurse’s perceptions and experiences of caring for people within a hospice context and identifies themes of commonalities and disparities in theory and practice, …

Measuring The Cultural Competence Of Hospice Social Workers Using The Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale-Racial Diversity Form, Revised Version For Use In Hospice Settings, Jessica Moore Begans

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Although about 40% of American deaths occur in hospice care, and although social workers are members of nearly all hospice teams, there is scant research on the cross-cultural practices and competence of hospice social workers. Before this study, no self-report cultural competence scale was available to measure the perceived cultural competence skills of hospice social workers. To address this issue, a validated cross-cultural competence scale, the Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale – Racial Diversity (Sheu, 2005) was modified to reflect the functions of hospice social workers. The revised scale (Begans, 2011) was completed by 33 hospice social workers in a New …

Dying Today: Perspectives Of The Modern Hospice Worker, Nicholas Jay Mac Murray

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

From a sociological standpoint, death is relatively difficult to research. While some individuals may describe near-death experiences, the actual act of death cannot be fully known to the living. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the nature of death and dying in the United States today. This research examines the perspective of modern hospice workers. These individuals work near death on a regular basis and therefore have a privileged understanding of what death is like in US society today. Data consist of ten in-depth interviews with hospice/ palliative-care workers in the Midwestern United States. Respondents were …

Physician's Experiences With Death And Dying: A Phenomenological Study, Deborah Jo Corker

Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study attempts to gain the physician's essences, meanings and understanding surrounding death and dying. Starting with themes revealed in literature, in-depth interviews were used to ask selected physicians providing care: How does death affect them? Are physicians receiving adequate training in end-of-life care? Does the medical culture still see death as failure? How do they find meaning in end-of-life care? Using three different groups of physicians: early in career, mid-career, and retired, this research attempted to examine the phenomena of death and dying over apparent time and developmental experiences of physicians. Results: Physicians have not been adequately …

The Ethical Balancing Act Of Hospice Care, Paul D. Longenecker

Health and Sport Sciences Faculty Scholarship

In providing hospice care, clinicians are confronted with ethical challenges on a daily basis involving their patients and families, their personal values and beliefs, and organizational practices. Being able to objectively understand these ethical challenges and having a plan of action to address is essential in effectively fulfilling the role of being a hospice professional.

Predictors Of Cancer Caregiver Depression Symptomatology, Henry R. Rivera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While the duration of the cancer illness may be shorter than that of other serious diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer caregivers provide many more hours of care during a week. Research directed at the intensive experience of caregiving of hospice cancer patients is needed as there is limited research of predictors of hospice cancer caregiver depression symptomatology. The purpose of the study was to examine predictors of depression symptomatology in caregivers of hospice cancer patients. A secondary analysis was conducted using baseline assessment data of patients and caregivers from a larger study of patient/caregiver dyads from two large hospices …

Informal Caregivers Of Advanced Cancer Patients: The Impact Of Geographic Proximity On Social Support And Bereavement Adjustment, John Garland Cagle

Theses and Dissertations

This research explored the social and psychological needs of caregivers of advanced cancer patients, and their subsequent bereavement adjustment. The study focuses exclusively on informal caregivers who provide assistance to patients receiving hospice care for end-stage cancer. Those individuals living furthest from the dying care recipient, the long distance caregivers, were of particular interest. This study used a prospective design to explore how a caregiver's geographic proximity impacted their social support and bereavement adjustment. A 2 x 3 repeated measures design was used to gather data from caregivers before a patient's death (using a pre-death questionnaire) as well as after …

Evaluating Transformational Leadership Skills Of Hospice Executives, Paul D. Longenecker

Health and Sport Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Health care is a rapidly changing environment requiring a high level of leadership skills by executive level personnel. The hospice industry is experiencing the same rapid changes; however, the changes have been experienced over the brief span of 25 years. Highly skilled hospice executives are a necessity for the growth and long-term survival of hospice care. This descriptive study was conducted to evaluate the leadership skills of hospice executives. The study population consisted of hospice executives who were members of the state hospice organization in Ohio and/or licensed by the state (88 hospice providers). Three questionnaires were utilized for collecting …

The Relationship Between Nurses' Anxiety And Attitude Related To Pediatric Hospice, Teresa Lyn Hoover

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To lose a child is a profoundly emotional experience. Even if it is not your own, the experience involves deeply held beliefs about death, the quality of death, ethics, and perhaps personal experience. Left unexplored, these beliefs and the anxiety they may produce, can become barriers to providing quality end-of-life care for children with life limiting conditions and their families. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between hospice nurses' attitudes toward providing pediatric hospice care and the level of anxiety they may experience related to pediatric hospice care. A self administered questionnaire was completed by 30 …

Access To Care: A Hospice Model Of Access To Care For The Homeless, Mary Ann Bridget Kinney

Theses and Graduate Projects

Access to Hospice for the terminally ill patient is a monumental problem for the disenfranchised person. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) in Washington D.C. there is an estimate of 3.5 million people who experience homelessness in a year (2003). The homeless face many health care service gaps including the vital service of end- of- life nursing care, which allows for death with dignity. The following paper will discuss the author's experience with the homeless, the need of access to Hospice Care for the homeless, and a review of literature regarding access to Hospice for the homeless. …

Hospice At The Crossroads: Can It Survive?, David A. Simpson

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.