Satisfaction of families using end-of-life care: Current successes and challenges in the hospice industry

Abstract

This study examined the satisfaction of family members with the end-of-life care their loved ones received. Data were collected from 1,839 individuals receiving care from 17 different care agencies nationwide. Although family satisfaction with hospice care was generally quite high. situational factors played a role. The timing of the referral was critical, with families rating services lower almost across the board when the referral to hospice was deemed "too late." Additionally, families expressed greater satisfaction when the patient's care was overseen by the hospice director, rather than a personal physician. Each of these findings has important implications for physicians, patients, and families as they begin to plan for end-of-life care.

Does involving volunteers in the provision of palliative care make a difference to patient and family wellbeing? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative evidence

“…Here trained volunteers provided wound care, nutritional advice, and infection control (Jack et al, 2011). Three studies did not report detail on what volunteers did (Block et al, 2010;Claxton-Oldfield et al, 2010;Miceli and Mylod, 2003).…”

“…Six of the included studies were of quantitative design (Block et al, 2010;Claxton-Oldfield et al, 2010;Herbst-Damm and Kulik, 2005;Luijkx and Shols, 2009;McGill et al, 1990;Miceli and Mylod, 2003), and two qualitative (Jack et al, 2011;Weeks et al, 2008). One of the quantitative studies also collected qualitative data (Luijkx and Shols, 2009); however we did not include this study in our evaluation of qualitative evidence as we were not certain that the study met qualitative method criteria in that they did not report qualitative analysis.…”

“…Of the quantitative studies, three were undertaken in the US (Block et al, 2010;Herbst-Damm and Kulik, 2005;Miceli and Mylod, 2003), two in Canada (Claxton-Oldfield et al, 2010;McGill et al, 1990); and one in the Netherlands (Luijkx and Shols, 2009). Of the qualitative studies, one was undertaken in Uganda (Jack et al, 2011) and one in Canada (Weeks et al, 2008).…”

“…All evaluated volunteers in the home-care setting. In some studies other healthcare settings were also included; one hospital long-term care facility (Weeks et al, 2008), another hospital settings as well as in nursing homes (Miceli and Mylod, 2003). A third study (Block et al, 2010), used data from a national dataset on US hospice care program that were provided in a range of care settings including hospice facility, hospital or nursing home (Federal Medicare Agency, 2000).…”

Missed Opportunity: Hospice Care and the Family

“…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).…”