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Supporting home hospice family caregivers: Insights from different perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2017

Lee Ellington ,
Kristin G. Cloyes ,
Jiayun Xu ,
Lanell Bellury ,
Patricia H. Berry ,
Maija Reblin  and
Margaret F. Clayton
Lee Ellington*
Affiliation:
College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Kristin G. Cloyes
Affiliation:
College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Jiayun Xu
Affiliation:
College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Lanell Bellury
Affiliation:
Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Patricia H. Berry
Affiliation:
Hartford Center of Gerontological Excellence, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
Maija Reblin
Affiliation:
Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, USA
Margaret F. Clayton
Affiliation:
College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Lee Ellington, College of Nursing, University of Utah, 10 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112. E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected]/.
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Abstract

Objective:

Our intention was to describe and compare the perspectives of national hospice thought leaders, hospice nurses, and former family caregivers on factors that promote or threaten family caregiver perceptions of support.

Method:

Nationally recognized hospice thought leaders (n = 11), hospice nurses (n = 13), and former family caregivers (n = 14) participated. Interviews and focus groups were audiotaped and transcribed. Data were coded inductively, and codes were hierarchically grouped by topic. Emergent categories were summarized descriptively and compared across groups.

Results:

Four categories linked responses from the three participant groups (95%, 366/384 codes): (1) essentials of skilled communication (30.6%), (2) importance of building authentic relationships (28%), (3) value of expert teaching (22.4%), and (4) critical role of teamwork (18.3%). The thought leaders emphasized communication (44.6%), caregivers stressed expert teaching (51%), and nurses highlighted teamwork (35.8%). Nurses discussed teamwork significantly more than caregivers (z = 2.2786), thought leaders discussed communication more than caregivers (z = 2.8551), and caregivers discussed expert teaching more than thought leaders (z = 2.1693) and nurses (z = 2.4718; all values of p < 0.05).

Significance of Results:

Our findings suggest differences in priorities for caregiver support across family caregivers, hospice nurses, and thought leaders. Hospice teams may benefit from further education and training to help cross the schism of family-centered hospice care as a clinical ideal to one where hospice team members can fully support and empower family caregivers as a hospice team member.

Keywords

CaregiverCommunicationCaregiver supportHospice nursingComparative analysis
Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , April 2018 , pp. 209 - 219
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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