TY - JOUR
T1 - Unmet needs at the end of life
T2 - Perceptions of hospice social workers
AU - Arnold, Elizabeth Mayfield
AU - Artin, Katherine Abbott
AU - Griffith, Devin
AU - Person, Judi Lund
AU - Graham, Kristina G.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the Project on Death in America of the Open Society Institute to the first author. At the time that this study was conducted, authors 1, 2, and 5 were with the School of Social Work, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
PY - 2007/3/20
Y1 - 2007/3/20
N2 - Among persons at the end of life, it is important to understand whether the needs of patients are being adequately addressed. In particular, in hospice settings where the emphasis is on comfort care and quality of life, we know little about the presence of unmet needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of hospice social workers in working with hospice patients who had unmet needs at the end of life. Surveys were mailed to hospice social workers (N = 212) in two Southeastern states with a response rate of 36%. Results revealed that hospice social workers perceived patients to experience a wide variety of unmet needs-more commonly at the time of admission than during subsequent patient interactions. The most common unmet need reported at both times was a decreased ability to participate in activities that make life enjoyable. In situations where unmet needs exist, social workers reported that the most common perceived reasons were patient- related psychosocial issues and family conflict/issues. Additionally, a variety of interventions were used to address unmet needs, but a large number of barriers appear to impact outcomes in the cases. Results suggest that hospice patients experience a number of unmet needs, many of which are potentially treatable problems and concerns. Hospice professionals must continue to seek ways to assess and intervene effectively with patients who have unmet needs. doi:10.1300/J457v02n04_04Copyright (c) by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care242007032061831552-4256PDFEnglisharticle
AB - Among persons at the end of life, it is important to understand whether the needs of patients are being adequately addressed. In particular, in hospice settings where the emphasis is on comfort care and quality of life, we know little about the presence of unmet needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of hospice social workers in working with hospice patients who had unmet needs at the end of life. Surveys were mailed to hospice social workers (N = 212) in two Southeastern states with a response rate of 36%. Results revealed that hospice social workers perceived patients to experience a wide variety of unmet needs-more commonly at the time of admission than during subsequent patient interactions. The most common unmet need reported at both times was a decreased ability to participate in activities that make life enjoyable. In situations where unmet needs exist, social workers reported that the most common perceived reasons were patient- related psychosocial issues and family conflict/issues. Additionally, a variety of interventions were used to address unmet needs, but a large number of barriers appear to impact outcomes in the cases. Results suggest that hospice patients experience a number of unmet needs, many of which are potentially treatable problems and concerns. Hospice professionals must continue to seek ways to assess and intervene effectively with patients who have unmet needs. doi:10.1300/J457v02n04_04Copyright (c) by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care242007032061831552-4256PDFEnglisharticle
KW - End-of-life care
KW - Hospice
KW - Social work
KW - Symptom management
KW - Unmet needs
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U2 - 10.1300/J457v02n04_04
DO - 10.1300/J457v02n04_04
M3 - Article
C2 - 17387095
AN - SCOPUS:34247143843
SN - 1552-4256
VL - 2
SP - 61
EP - 83
JO - Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
JF - Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
IS - 4
ER -