Patient and caregiver satisfaction with end-of-life care: Does high satisfaction mean high quality of care?

Steele, Linda; Mills, Beth; Long, Marty R.; Hagopian, Gloria A.

doi:10.1177/104990910201900106

“…In general, family caregivers have expressed overall satisfaction with the hospice services received (Steele et al, 2002; Miceli & Mylod, 2003). Evaluations of the quality of hospice services provided to patients and caregivers have included measures of effective communication, symptom management, and promptness of hospice service delivery (Steele et al, 2002; Rhodes et al, 2007).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evaluations of the quality of hospice services provided to patients and caregivers have included measures of effective communication, symptom management, and promptness of hospice service delivery (Steele et al, 2002; Rhodes et al, 2007). However, there is little information regarding caregiver satisfaction with bereavement-specific services provided by hospice (Rathbun et al, 2003).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although several studies have documented caregivers’ satisfaction with hospice services (Steele, Mills, Long, & Hagopian, 2002; Meyers & Gray, 2001), few studies have examined the extent to which hospice does or does not address the bereavement-specific needs of family caregivers (Rathbun, Denham, & McCarthy, 2003), particularly from the perspective of the caregiver. This study used qualitative data from retrospective interviews to explore caregivers’ experiences with hospice services.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Missed Opportunity: Hospice Care and the Family

Tabler

¹

,

Utz

²

,

Ellington

³

et al. 2015

Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care

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A typical mission statement of hospice services is to provide quality, compassionate care to those with terminal illness and to support families through caregiving and bereavement. This study explored the ways that bereavement needs of caregivers, either pre- or post-death of their spouse/partner, were addressed using qualitative retrospective phone interviews with 19 caregivers whose spouse/partner was enrolled in hospice care for cancer. Overall, participants expressed high satisfaction with hospice care, most often noting a high satisfaction with the quality of care provided to their spouse/partner. During the pre-death phase, caregivers recalled being so focused on their spouse/partner’s needs that they rarely spoke with hospice staff about their own personal needs and emotions. Participants said that bereavement counseling occurred primarily after the death of the spouse/partner, in the form of generic pamphlets or phone calls from someone they had not met during prior interactions with hospice staff. These findings suggest that caregivers’ high satisfaction with hospice may be more associated with the quality of care provided to the spouse/partner than with bereavement support they received. Our findings illustrated a potential missed opportunity for hospices to address the family-oriented goals that are commonly put forward in hospice mission statements.

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“…In general, family caregivers have expressed overall satisfaction with the hospice services received (Steele et al, 2002;Miceli & Mylod, 2003). Evaluations of the quality of hospice services provided to patients and caregivers have included measures of effective communication, symptom management, and promptness of hospice service delivery (Steele et al, 2002;Rhodes et al, 2007).…”

Section: Hospice and Griefmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evaluations of the quality of hospice services provided to patients and caregivers have included measures of effective communication, symptom management, and promptness of hospice service delivery (Steele et al, 2002;Rhodes et al, 2007). However, there is little information regarding caregiver satisfaction with bereavement-specific services provided by hospice (Rathbun et al, 2003).…”

Section: Hospice and Griefmentioning

confidence: 99%

Missed Opportunity: Hospice Care and the Family

2015

The Gerontologist

1

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A typical mission statement of hospice services is to provide quality, compassionate care to those with terminal illness and to support families through caregiving and bereavement. This study explored the ways that bereavement needs of caregivers, either pre-or post-death of their spouse/ partner, were addressed using qualitative retrospective phone interviews with 19 caregivers whose spouse/partner was enrolled in hospice care for cancer. Overall, participants expressed high satisfaction with hospice care, most often noting a high satisfaction with the quality of care provided to their spouse/partner. During the pre-death phase, caregivers recalled being so focused on their spouse/partner's needs that they rarely spoke with hospice staff about their own personal needs and emotions. Participants said that bereavement counseling occurred primarily after the death of the spouse/partner, in the form of generic pamphlets or phone calls from someone they had not met during prior interactions with hospice staff. These findings suggest that caregivers' high satisfaction with hospice may be more associated with the quality of care provided to the spouse/partner than with bereavement support they received. Our findings illustrated a potential missed opportunity for hospices to address the family-oriented goals that are commonly put forward in hospice mission statements. Keywordscaregivers; family caregivers; bereavement; hospice; grief/loss A serious chronic illness affects the quality of life of the patient, as well as the wellbeing and quality of life of family members. For example, those close to someone with a terminal cancer diagnosis often take on significant caregiving tasks, face other role changes as the dying person is not as able to engage in the same level of daily life activities, and express many feelings of uncertainty and grief as the patient experiences end-of-life (Badr et al., 2010). Research has indicated the importance of family or couple-based interventions across the entire trajectory of the chronic illnesses, including and especially during the end-of-life

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Hospice Care for Patients with Dementia

Mitchell

¹

,

Kiely

²

,

Miller

³

et al. 2007

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

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Dementia is a leading cause of death in the USA. Although guidelines exist to determine hospice eligibility for dementia, only a small percentage of patients dying with this condition receive hospice care. Hospice recipients with dementia have not been well characterized, and little is known about the quality of care they receive. The Family Evaluation of Hospice Care (FEHC) survey was adopted by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in 2003 as a standard benchmarking tool. The FEHC collects data from bereaved families regarding the quality of hospice care. An online repository of 2005 FEHC data was used to describe hospice recipients over 65 years of age who died with dementia and to examine their families' evaluation of hospice care. Decedents with cancer and chronic terminal conditions were also analyzed for comparison purposes. A total of 77,123 surveys submitted by 796 hospices nationwide met the study's eligibility criteria. Decedent diagnoses were as follows: dementia, n=8,686 (11.3%); cancer, n=35,693 (46.3%); and other chronic diseases, n=32,744 (42.4%). Decedents with dementia were more likely to be >85 years, female, and have length of stays >180 days. Evaluation of care in all FEHC domains did not significantly differ between groups. Approximately three-quarters of bereaved family members of decedents in all groups perceived the overall quality of care as excellent; however, opportunities to improve care were also identified. These data suggest that the evaluation of hospice care for older patients is generally high, and does not vary with respect to terminal diagnoses.

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Patient and caregiver satisfaction with end-of-life care: Does high satisfaction mean high quality of care?

Cited by 28 publications

References 12 publications

Missed Opportunity: Hospice Care and the Family

Missed Opportunity: Hospice Care and the Family

Missed Opportunity: Hospice Care and the Family

Hospice Care for Patients with Dementia

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