Digital Commons Network^™

Occupational Therapy For Client Empowerment In End-Of-Life Care, Emily Johnson, Sarah Landsem

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Purpose: To enable clients in end-of-life care (EOLC ) the opportunity to continue engaging in meaningful activities throughout their remaining days to increase QoL and experience a "good death."

Methods: To complete our Scholarly Project we conducted a literature review using PubMed, CINAHL, OTsearch, and AOTA publications search engines. We also conducted an informal information session with local hospice staff and from this information we chose model/theory to guide product development.

Results: Upon completion of the literature review, we found the following problems existed in regard to utilization of Occupational Therapy in end-of-life care setting; 1) hospice care team members …

Loss In Translation: A Model For Therapeutic Engagement And Intervention With Grieving Clients, Shelley Cohen Konrad

Social Work Faculty Publications

Bearing witness to grief is about accepting and experiencing suffering as an unavoidable aspect of loss. It also entails listening to and responding with clients in a way that affirms that their experiences have been heard and understood. This article describes a model for therapeutic engagement and intervention with grieving clients. The model is informed by contemporary grief and practice theories characterized by such qualities as emotional presence, reciprocity, responsiveness, empathic expression, and meaning making. Case examples from the author’s research and practice experience illustrate how these qualities contribute to what she describes as translational relationships that lead to transformations …

Personal Growth In Couples Caring For A Child With A Life-Threatening Illness, Kimberly Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Little is known about the potential for positive outcomes in couples who have a child with a life-threatening illness. The current study was a secondary analysis of demographics and personal growth data of 34 couples actively caring for children with various life-threatening conditions. There were three overarching goals in this research: (a) to examine differences in Posttraumatic Growth Inventory scores (PTGI) of mothers and fathers, (b) to examine the relationship between demographic variables and PTGI scores of mothers and fathers, and (c) to measure level of congruency in couple-dyad scores and test if partners’ growth scores are predictive of one …

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 …

Palliative Care Patients And Their Quality Of Life As Perceived By The Patient And Their Caregiver, Debra L. Dignan

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

This quantitative pilot study examined the quality of life of palliative care patients as perceived by the patient and their caregiver. Patients with palliative care consults at The University of Colorado and The Medical Center of Aurora were asked to participate in this study. The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire survey tool was selected to measure the patient's quality of life due to its validity and reliability in measuring quality of life in the palliative care patient population. The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire consists of five distinct subscales: physical well-being, physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, existential well-being, and support. Sixteen …

Efficacy Of Complementary And Alternative Medicine On Perceived Well-Being In Geriatric Long-Term Care Residents, Shannon L. Baer

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Non-conventional therapies have been termed and captured by the phrase Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), since the establishment of The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), by the Federal Government in 1992. With the use of CAM on the rise in the baby boom population and the expectation that the number of nursing home residents is expected to double by 2020, it is imperative that healthcare providers gain more knowledge in effective means for treating the geriatric population holistically. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the implementation of a CAM intervention program in a sample …

10-14-08 (The Liberty Champion, Volume 26, Issue 6)

2008 -- 2009

No abstract provided.

Service Utilization Among Bereaved Spouses And Family Caregivers, Elizabeth J. Bergman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For family caregivers, response to the death of the care recipient is marked by a high degree of variability. In recognition of this variability, a range of services and interventions is available to assist individuals in the adjustment to bereavement. The present dissertation, consisting of three related studies, was conducted to examine the utilization of bereavement services by family caregivers.

The first study examined the role of psychological distress in the utilization of bereavement services by spousal caregivers in the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study. The second study examined bereavement service utilization among dementia caregiver participants in the …

2008 Morehead First Christian Church Echo Newsletter, First Christian Church Echo (Morehead, Ky.)

Morehead First Christian Church Newsletter Archive

Morehead First Christian Church Echo Newsletter from 2008.

Macalester Today Winter 2007-2008, Macalester College

Macalester Today

No abstract provided.

Resuscitating A Healthcare Charity, R Akhileswaran, Seet Ai Mee

Social Space

When government funding policies change, voluntary welfare organisations that depend largely on subsidies to run their services can find their survival at stake. Dr R Akhileswaran and Dr Seet Ai Mee present the case study of HCA Hospice Care.

Evaluation Of The Pathways Palliative Care Program At The Denver Hospice, Adam Berquist

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

As the patterns of morbidity and mortality in the United States shift toward chronic illness requiring the need for quality continuous care over extended periods of time, more research has been devoted to end-of-life care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Pathways palliative care program at the Denver Hospice as seen through the eyes of patient caregivers. Nine caregivers were interviewed in order to determine their perceptions of the Pathways program and a thematic analysis of their responses was performed. Results of the thematic analysis, as confirmed by a second reviewer, yielded very positive feelings towards the …

The Efficacy Of Complementary Therapies In Reducing Cancer-Related Pain, Sarah A. Hocking

Student Works

Pain is a persistent and troubling condition for patients with cancer. Because medications often provide incomplete management of cancer-related pain, adjunct treatment may be necessary to provide more complete pain management. Complementary and alternative therapies are becoming increasingly prevalent in cancer pain management. However, lack of knowledge regarding the efficacy of complementary therapies may prevent patients and nurses from implementing them. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of literature on the efficacy of various complementary and alternative therapies for managing cancer-related pain, including massage, aromatherapy, hypnosis, and music therapy. Eighteen recent research articles related to this …

Assessment Of Seminary Education On End Of Life Issues, Stefan Hakon Pomrenke

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The US health care system faces increased costs from end of life (EOL) care. The intensive approach to EOL treatment with greater use of procedures in ICUs has led to decedent spending six times greater than that of survivors in the hospital. Experts in ICU and Palliative care fields have called for greater utilization of end of life planning and education. To date, EOL education has been dominated by the technologically driven medical field and the church has been under-utilized. The US population relies on clergy support for many mental health and EOL issues. Clergy report feeling uncomfortable in …

The Relationship Between Autonomy And Job Satisfaction Among Registered Nurses, Morgan A. Taylor

Master's Theses and Capstones

With the state of health care today, it is essential to determine the level of job satisfaction among registered nurses as they are important members of the health care team. With the ongoing nursing shortage, identifying strategies to improve retention among nurses will help retain well qualified nurses and recruit the new generation of nurses. Autonomy is a factor that often plays a role in the quality of an individuals work environment, thus the current study was conducted to determine if a relationship exists between nursing job satisfaction and autonomy.

A quantitative, correlational study was conducted with 100 registered nurses …

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 …

護理系學生安寧緩和醫療課程教育介入成效之研究, 德豐 葉, 玟伶 陳, 佳雯 王, 美幸 張, 惠美 黃, 育嘉 張

Journal of Medical Education

目的：本研究主要是探討護理系學生對於安寧緩和醫療知識的認知程度，以及相關教育的介入對安寧緩和醫療知識之認知程度的差異情形。方法：本研究採自填之結構式問卷，並採用事前事後比較之研究分析，針對中部某一科技大學之護理系學生進行安寧緩和醫療知識之問卷調查。最後有效問卷為205份。結果：經由學習「緩和醫療護理」之課程後，後測平均值均有明顯的提高，表示教育的介入是有幫助的。個人特質中僅學制（四技/二技）部份有顯著差異，其餘變項與安寧緩和醫療知識皆無相關，經共變數分析結果，在經過教育介入後，不同學制學生的知識差異顯著縮小。但後測部份安寧緩和醫療教育知識仍顯不足的有四個方面，分別為「安寧緩和醫療對病人的幫助」、「安寧緩和醫療的法律問題」、「住進安寧病房的時機」以及「嗎啡的使用」。結論：課程設計中應多加強安寧緩和醫療相關法律、健保給付的宣導以及嗎啡正確的使用觀念，同時考慮不同學制的教育需求。

Diagnostic Classifications And Resource Utilization Of Decedents Served By The Department Of Veterans Affairs, Sonia A. Duffy, Laurel Copeland, Faith Hopp, Robert J. Zalenski

Social Work Faculty Publications

Background: Given the volume and cost of inpatient care during the last year of life, there is a critical need to identify patterns of dying as a means of planning end-of-life care services, especially for the growing number of older persons who receive services from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Methods: A retrospective computerized record review was conducted of 20,933 VHA patients who died as inpatients between October 1, 2001 and September 30, 2002. Diagnoses were aggregated into one of five classification patterns of death and analyzed in terms of health care resource utilization (mean number of inpatient days and …

Quality Of Life For Patients And Caregivers: Palliative Care Funding Opportunities, Edward Joseph Schaub

Master's Theses

Development of the field of palliative care, which was nourished through extensive private foundation funding over more than a decade, has to some extent been stalled because of sharply reduced private funding, a lack of understanding by the general population, and the inaction of major institutions.

This study investigated the current state of palliative care funding efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area (the "Bay Area") and across the U.S. The individuals that participated in the research component of this study included palliative care experts and palliative care funders. Through two separate surveys and two interview groups their perceptions and …

Symptom Burden At End Of Life In Patients With Terminal And Life-Threatening Illness In Intensive Care Units, Peggy G. Kalowes Phd, Msn, Rn, Cns

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the symptom burden and severity of symptom distress reported by ICU patients at high-risk for death and to compare patient-rated symptoms and distress for concordance with symptoms reported by a family member. A prospective, correlational design with two data-points was used to study a convenience sample of 80 patients and 53 family members. The Condensed Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (CMSAS) was used to gain patient/proxy report of symptoms on the first and third day after admission to the ICU. The majority of patients were symptomatic (98%), reporting an average of 10.23 symptoms. …

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 Music Therapy Intern Working In End-Of-Life Care : A Study Of Personal Experience, Mary Delacy Kidwell

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

There is very little literature available on the personal experience of the music therapy intern, and not any specifically on the experience of the music therapy intern working in End-of-Life Care. Music therapy interns working with dying patients develop quite differently, as compared to those working with other populations. To provide music at the bedside of a dying patient is an extraordinary experience, one that seems to go beyond any level of preparedness. A survey examining the experiences of music therapy interns at the End-Of-Life Care was used to help participants share their experience about areas including: self-awareness, supervision, counseling …

A Survey Of Financial Aspects, Staffing And Service Trends Of Music Therapy In Hospice Programs, Melissa Amy Hirokawa

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compile quantitative data to determine how hospice programs fund music therapy services, and to identify staffing trends (number of music therapists and employment status) and service trends (caseload, frequency, and length of sessions) for hospice programs with music therapy in the Great Lakes Region. Thirty-six music therapists completed the survey and qualified for the study. Participants were asked to complete a one-time online survey with 26 questions pertaining to basic demographic and staffing information, music therapy services provided and session information, and funding.

Results of this survey indicate that there are differences in …

Vital Signs, Spring 2006, Boonshoft School Of Medicine

Vital Signs

A twenty-eight page newsletter created by the Boonshoft School of Medicine to document the current affairs of the school. This issue includes a variety of feature articles, faculty profiles, class notes, and more.

On Hastening Death Without Violating Legal And Moral Prohibitions, Norman L. Cantor

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

From Quinlan To Cruzan To Schiavo: What Have We Learned?, William H. Colby

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Psychosocial And Cognitive Predictors Of Outcomes Among Heart Transplant Candidates., Alok Madan

All ETDs from UAB

No abstract provided.

Medicinal Marijuana And Palliative Care: Carving A Liberty Interest Out Of The Glucksberg Framework , Adam Hyatt

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In Gonzales v. Raich, the Supreme Court vacated the Ninth Circuit’s decision and held that the Controlled Substances Act was not an unconstitutional exercise of the Commerce Clause, yet never reached the substantive due process claim or the medical necessity. This Comment assesses whether there is a right to palliative care and focuses on the substantive due process claim available to the plaintiffs on remand. This Comment argues that, in view of the Court’s precedents, there is a right, subject to limitations, to use last-resort medical marijuana. In addition, the author determines that there is a fundamental right to palliative …

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 …

Predictors Of Length Of Stay At Jefferson Hospice, Alexander D. Fuld, Timothy P. Cousounis, James Plumb

Population Health Matters (Formerly Health Policy Newsletter)

No abstract available.