At the Eleventh Hour: Psychosocial Dynamics in Short Hospice Stays

Autor/in	Waldrop, Deborah P.
Titel	At the Eleventh Hour: Psychosocial Dynamics in Short Hospice Stays
Quelle	In: Gerontologist, 46 (2006) 1, S.106-114 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0016-9013
Schlagwörter	Hospices (Terminal Care); Interviews; Caregivers; Patients; Cancer; Qualitative Research; Terminal Illness; Medical Services; Access to Health Care; Clinical Diagnosis; Medical Evaluation; Sampling; Coding; Etiology; Data Analysis + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hospice; Hospiz; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Caregiver; Carer; Betreuungsperson; Pfleger; Patient; Carcinoma; Karzinom; Krebs (med); Krebserkrankung; Qualitative Forschung; Arzt; Codierung; Programmierung; Ätiologie; Auswertung
Abstract	Purpose: This study explored the psychosocial dynamics of short hospice stays (less than 2 weeks) of cancer patients age 65 and older. Design and Methods: In-depth interviews with 59 caregivers of 50 patients were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded by using Atlas ti software. Results: A descriptive typology is presented. A late diagnosis (n = 22 or 44%) was one in which cancer was diagnosed between 2 and 4 weeks before death, rendering earlier hospice admission impossible. Late diagnoses were made because the cancer was missed, masked by comorbidities, or the person resisted seeing a health care provider. A known diagnosis (n = 25 or 50%) was one in which the diagnosis was made long before hospice admission; admission was delayed because the person elected ongoing curative treatment until the final days of life, or the family managed the care without hospice until a turning point (medical, functional, pragmatic, or emotional) occurred, making the care unmanageable. Implications: Hospice utilization is influenced by the interrelationship among patient-family-provider factors. Understanding the characteristics and needs of subgroups of terminally ill people is key to providing good care at life's end. (Contains 2 tables.) (Author).
Anmerkungen	The Gerontological Society of America. 1030 15th Street NW Suite 250, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-842-1275; Fax: 202-842-1150; e-mail: geron@geron.org; Web site: http://www.geron.org/journals/gsapub.htm.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10