Settings of Care Within Hospice

Abstract

Although place of death has been routinely studied in end-of-life (EOL) care, more analysis on place of death within hospice is needed because of the recent, dramatic rise in the number of hospice patients dying in inpatient settings. Using a case study to illustrate the complexity of determinants of place of death within hospice, this article highlights important known factors and elucidate gaps for further research. Individual and system level factors, sociocultural meanings, caregiving and preferences are shown to have important implications. Additionally, the unique components of home hospice, inpatient hospice and transitions between these settings may have a fundamental role in the future of quality EOL care. Further research on determinants of hospice settings of care is essential to the care of older adults at the end of life.

Quality of End-of-Life Care Provided to Patients With Different Serious Illnesses

“…19,20 We also examined one measure, death in the intensive care unit (ICU), associated with worse family-reported quality. 21–25 …”

Palliative Care as the Driving Force for Providing Psychological Comfort to Patients with Cancer: A Hermeneutic Study

“…In other words, palliative care can be provided to cancer patients both during their hospital stay and at their homes. However, palliative care which is provided during hospitalization is more effective because it is allembracing (35).…”

Same Agency, Different Teams

“…Dying at home with hospice care often is seen as the “gold standard” (Teno et al, 2004); nevertheless, given the limits for offering end-of-life care at home, health care practitioners and scholars have challenged this idealized scenario (Lysaght & Ersek, 2013). Home hospice involves significant patient and family resources that are not universally available.…”