<p> The current study served to provide new knowledge that may benefit future researchers, policy makers, health care leaders, and health care professionals who aspire to improve the delivery status for quality end of life care. A missing link in the hospice care continuum was identified as the need for the use of music listening by patients and caregivers as a low cost viable non-invasive alternative intervention that can be effectively utilized in real life situations. The researcher chose the current study's generic qualitative design to enhance understanding of how informal hospice patients' caregivers perceived music listening as a means for the patients to accept the state of a good death. Generic qualitative research design offered the researcher with an opportunity to hear and inductively analyze the hospice patients' vulnerable voices per their caregivers. Data was collected during a semi-structured face-to-face interview process and was reflective of the perceptions of hospice caregivers (<i>N</i> = 4). The researcher incorporated an axial coding process with the use of NVivo 9 software to analyze the data. A <i> priori coding</i> method incorporated the use of four predetermined themes: three domains for the concept of a good death and one for music and a good death. Overall, the findings indicated that music listening had a positive effect on the hospice patients, according to their caregivers' perceptions. The study limitations reflected the use of a small sample size from one Southwestern city that consisted of four female caregivers and the study results were dependent upon the perceptions of these caregivers. Consequently, due to the study's limitations, health care researchers and health care administrators should cautiously generalize the study's findings and decide for themselves if the study benefits outweigh its limitations. Further studies are indicated to enhance and supplement the knowledge presented in this study. One suggestion to further research is to broaden the scope of recruitment to include younger hospice patients, including children, who receive care either in their own home or in a medical facility. Another suggestion to further research would be to compare the effects of different types of music preferred by hospice patients.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3559908 |
| Date | 31 May 2013 |
| Creators | Schaeffer, Sharon F. |
| Publisher | Capella University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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