Quality of life for hospice caregivers

The goal of hospice care is to enhance the quality of life (QOL) of patients and their families during the final stages of illness, the dying process, and the bereavement period. This goal involves using an interdisciplinary approach to attend to patients and families as a "unit of care" and to address the spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, and psychological aspects of living with a terminal illness. Despite efforts, research shows a decrease in the overall quality of life of hospice caregivers after the first 30 days of hospice care, especially in four quality of life domains: physical, financial, emotional, and social domains. The purpose of this study was to examine the following questions: 1) How does the QOL of hospice caregivers change over time? 2) How does a defined intervention affect their QOL? 3) How do different interventions affect the usual trajectory of QOL? 4) How do various aspects of QOL change over time? This poster addresses the first research question

The MDS Mortality Risk Index: The Evolution Of A Method For Predicting 6-month Mortality In Nursing Home Residents

Accurate prognosis is vital to the initiation of advance care planning particularly in a vulnerable, at risk population such as care home residents. The aim of this paper is to report on the revision and simplification of the MDS Mortality Rating Index (MMRI) for use in clinical practice to predict the probability of death in six months for care home residents

Telehealth Group Interactions in the Hospice Setting: Assessing Technical Quality Across Platforms

Objective: This study aims to examine the technical quality of videoconferencing used in hospice to engage caregivers as “virtual” members of interdisciplinary team meetings and their impressions of telehealth. Furthermore, it aims to compare the quality of plain old telephone service (POTS) and Web-based videoconferencing and provide recommendations for assessing video quality for telehealth group interactions. Materials and Methods: Data were obtained from an ongoing randomized clinical trial exploring Web-based videoconferencing and a completed prospective study of POTS-based videoconferencing in hospice. For the assessment of the technical quality, an observation form was used. Exit interviews with caregivers assessed impressions with the use of telehealth. A retrospective analysis of video-recorded team meetings was conducted rating attributes essential for the quality of videoconferencing (e.g., video artifacts, sharpness). Results: In total, 200 hospice team meetings were analyzed, including 114 video-recorded team meetings using Web-based videoconferencing and 86 meetings using POTS videophones. A direct comparison between the two modalities indicates the superiority of Web-based video in image quality but less so in audio quality. Transcripts of 19 caregiver interviews were analyzed. Caregivers found the use of videoconferencing to be a positive experience and a useful and essential tool to communicating with the hospice team. Conclusions: This study highlights the potential of telehealth to improve communication in hospice and the need for new tools that capture the quality of video-mediated communication among multiple stakeholders and strategies to improve the ongoing documentation of telehealth group sessions\u27 technical quality

Technologies to Support End of Life Care

Article discussing the current level of utilization of informatics systems in hospice and palliative care and two projects that highlight the role of informatics applications for hospice informal caregivers

Reciprocal Suffering: Caregiver Concerns During Hospice Care

Article on caregiver concerns during hospice care and reciprocal suffering

Sharing atrocity stories in hospice: A study of niceness message strategies in interdisciplinary team meetings

Article on sharing atrocity stories in hospice and a study of niceness message strategies in interdisciplinary team meetings

Use of videophones to deliver a cognitive-behavioural therapy to hospice caregivers

Article on the use of videophones to deliver a cognitive-behavioural therapy to hospice caregivers

What Patients and Families Don't Hear: Backstage Communication in Hospice Interdisicplinary Team Meetings

Article on the backstage communication in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings and what families and patients don't hear

Social Work Role in Pain Management with Hospice Caregivers: A National Survey

Article on a national survey of the social work role in pain management with hospice caregivers