ABSTRACT Centered on interviews with 13 hospice care professionals from two large hospice organizations in Southern California, this thesis project examines the challenges that arise in hospice work. Hospice’s delivery of end-of-life care is becoming even more significant as the population lives longer. According to the National Institute on Aging (2014), the face of aging in the United States is changing dramatically. This examination discloses some of the challenges that hospice workers face in a continuously changing health care system, while trying to provide extraordinary service to the terminally ill. Hospice regards dying as a conventional progression, and neither hastens nor defers death. Hospice health care professions are essential in providing care. This thesis uses a qualitative method and examined beliefs about hospice care among hospice professionals using compassion fatigue also known as burnout, job satisfaction and religion and spirituality as a foundation. The findings of this thesis found that compassion fatigue is a real phenomenon and has been experienced by nine or 69% of participants, and of the 69%, six or 67% that experienced compassion fatigue are paid employees who work a forty hour work week. The remaining three participants or 33% who have experienced compassion fatigue are volunteers who commit to volunteering more than two days a week. Frequent contact with individuals who are terminally ill increases the likelihood of compassion fatigue. The iv findings also indicate that 100% of participants experienced job satisfaction while working in patient care, despite the length of time working in the field of hospice. Job satisfaction is contributed to the belief that participants have regarding hospice care, and that belief is the work they do in hospice is a "calling" and they all consider working with the terminally ill as a privilege. Lastly, the findings indicate that religion and spirituality play a major role in how participants deal with the ongoing death of patients. Ninety two percent or 12 out of the 13 participants claim a belief in a higher power, and they use this belief to cope with the suffering and death of patients. They also use religion and spirituality as a way to decrease stress and to have a piece of mind that when a patient dies they are in a much better place and relieved of their suffering. Taken as a whole, this study concentrated on hospice professionals and the correlation of compassion fatigue, job satisfaction and religion and spiritually which can have a pronounced impact on the overall quality of service delivery. The purpose of this study was to bring mindfulness to the hospice social professional. What has been provided in this study is empirical support for advanced research in the field of hospice care. Additional research is necessary in order to understand more about the beliefs of hospice care among helping professionals and the motivations they use in order to deliver optimal service to the terminally ill.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-171).

Bakgrund: Människan har alltid sett döden som något obehagligt och kommer troligen alltid att göra det. Ända fram till 60-talet var det få läkare som vågade tala om diagnosen för patienten om hon var döende. De anhöriga spelar en stor roll i vården av patienten i livets slutskede. Man ska vara lyhörd och uppmärksam för att på bästa sätt kunna tolka signaler i samtal med patienter. Ansvaret som vilar på sjuksköterskan är stort. Syfte: Att belysa sjuksköterskans kommunikation med patienten och dess anhöriga i livets slutskede. Metod: En litteraturstudie baserad på tolv kvalitativa och kvantitativa vetenskapliga artiklar. Artiklarna söktes i databaserna CINAHL, PubMed och PsycINFO. De tolv artiklarna som valdes ut granskades för att säkerställa kvalitén på dem. Resultat: Sju kategorier hittades: Tid, Ovilja att samtala om döden, Kultur och livsåskådning, Icke verbal kommunikation, Ärlighet, Hopp och sjuksköterskans känslor. Slutsats: En döende patient har också behov av att göra sin röst hörd och känna att någon tar sig tid att lyssna på henne. Döden är något skrämmande för de flesta människor, men genom bra samtal kan man beröra ämnet och minska rädslan så att patienten kan uttrycka sina känslor och få inre frid.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2007. / Abstract. Typescript. Date on approval sheet, March 17 and 18, 2008; date on title page, November 13, 2007. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 195-198).

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1984.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Kiel, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. xiii-xxxiii).

There is minimal research into families where a person who is receiving palliative care has dependent children. In particular, there is a lack of information about the work that palliative care social workers undertake with such families. This study examines the role of the palliative care social worker in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children of adults receiving specialist palliative care. This is a qualitative study involving the collection of information from a total of 57 palliative care social workers in three ways: focus groups, survey and semi-structured interviews. The analysis demonstrates that palliative care social workers understand the term 'safeguarding children' to mean more than child protection alone. The analysis also focuses on the process of referral, institutional barriers, supports for their work with children, and inter-agency collaboration. An equally important aspect of the analysis, and one generally neglected in psycho-social studies, relates to the socio-economic context of the palliative care social workers' work, including the effects of the immigration status of families on children. In the main, concerns about the present and future care of children come to the attention of palliative care social workers via members of the multidisciplinary team in which they are based. The numbers are reported to be relatively small in contrast to the total number of referrals received. The extent to which support to children is provided varies considerably; some palliative care agencies do not encourage palliative care social workers to work directly with children prior to bereavement and others restrict direct work with children post-bereavement. The main emphasis for all workers, however, is on support to the parents to help them understand their children's needs during the terminal phase of the illness. The well-being of children at this time of emotional stress is included in the palliative care social workers' definition of 'safeguarding children'. In addition, the wide-ranging examination of the palliative care social workers' involvement with the families illustrates the extent of the dedication involved in an under-resourced and little understood area of their work. Whilst palliative care social workers reported receiving basic training on child protection within their agency, with some themselves providing this training, further training on safeguarding children is not always available or known about. The amount and type of professional supervision and support is also varied, particularly in relation to child-care matters; not all have access to supervision from another social work professional. There are a small number of examples given in the study where children are considered to be at risk in some way. Children cared for by lone parents are recognised as being especially vulnerable, particularly if future care plans are not in place before the death of the parent. Also identified as vulnerable are children of parents whose immigration status is in question as their future location may be in doubt, placing children and the surviving parent under additional stress. One of the major difficulties for palliative care social workers is securing support services from local authority children's services. Whilst there are examples of collaboration and co-operation, the findings in this study echo those of others which examine the relationship between adult and children's services. In this study, palliative care social workers speak of frustration and disappointment in the responses they receive, and they are concerned that the needs of children of dying parents are not understood. This study contributes to the debate about the focus of children in care services for adults and how staff may be supported in their task of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This study also adds to the limited existing knowledge about palliative care social work practice.

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing