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Exploring perceptions of psychological services in a children's hospice in the United Kingdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2012

Jo Wray ,
Bruce Lindsay ,
Kenda Crozier ,
Lauren Andrews  and
Janet Leeson
Jo Wray*
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom
Bruce Lindsay
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
Kenda Crozier
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
Lauren Andrews
Affiliation:
East Anglia's Children's Hospices, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Janet Leeson
Affiliation:
East Anglia's Children's Hospices, Cambridge, United Kingdom
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Jo Wray, Centre for Nursing and Allied Health Research, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JH, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background:

The provision of emotional and psychological support for all family members who need it is an essential element of holistic palliative care. Within East Anglia's Children's Hospice, teams of professionally trained and experienced workers offer psychosocial support to all family members at all times during the child's and family's journey. However, the effectiveness and appropriateness of current psychosocial provision is unclear, as is the requirement for any additional psychological services.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to elicit perceptions about current psychological support within the hospice from a group of stakeholders (parents, hospice staff, and external professionals).

Method:

Forty-five parents participated in family focus groups, telephone interviews, individual interviews in their home, or a web-based survey. Ninety-five hospice staff (including nurses, carers, play specialists, therapists, and family support practitioners) and 28 external staff (including physicians, nurses, and commissioning managers) were seen using a mixture of focus group and individual meetings. Focus groups and meetings were held at the hospice building or at an external venue. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic coding.

Results:

Two main themes addressing perceptions of current psychological provision emerged: “understanding psychological support” and “unmet psychological need.” Subthemes linked to support included choice, staff roles and labels, communication, and flexibility, whereas the themes within unmet need had a stronger focus on people and problems.

Significance of results:

Understanding different user perspectives is an important first step in enhancing current psychological provision; operationalizing the findings will be challenging.

Keywords

Psychological supportChildrenPerceptionsHospiceFamily support
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 11 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 373 - 382
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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