Dying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relatives
Abstract Background Internationally there is an increasing concern about the quality of end-of-life care (EoLC) provided in acute hospitals. More people are cared for at end of life and die in acute hospitals than in any other healthcare setting. This paper reports the views of bereaved relatives on...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2019-10-01
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| Series: | BMC Palliative Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12904-019-0464-z |
| _version_ | 1818256437215756288 |
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| author | Diarmuid Ó Coimín Geraldine Prizeman Bettina Korn Sarah Donnelly Geralyn Hynes |
| author_facet | Diarmuid Ó Coimín Geraldine Prizeman Bettina Korn Sarah Donnelly Geralyn Hynes |
| author_sort | Diarmuid Ó Coimín |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Internationally there is an increasing concern about the quality of end-of-life care (EoLC) provided in acute hospitals. More people are cared for at end of life and die in acute hospitals than in any other healthcare setting. This paper reports the views of bereaved relatives on the experience of care they and the person that died received during their last admission in two university adult acute tertiary hospitals. Methods Relatives of patients who died were invited to participate in a post-bereavement postal survey. An adapted version of VOICES (Views of Informal Carers - Evaluation of Services) questionnaire was used. VOICES MaJam has 36 closed questions and four open-ended questions. Data were gathered in three waves and analysed using SPSS and NVivo. 356 respondents completed the survey (46% response rate). Results The majority of respondents (87%: n = 303) rated the quality of care as outstanding, excellent or good during the last admission to hospital. The quality of care by nurses, doctors and other staff was highly rated. Overall, care needs were well met; however, findings identified areas of care which could be improved, including communication and the provision of emotional and spiritual support. In addition, relatives strongly endorsed the provision of EoLC in single occupancy rooms, the availability of family rooms on acute hospital wards and the provision of bereavement support. Conclusions This research provides a powerful snapshot in time into what works well and what could be improved in EoLC in acute hospitals. Findings are reported under several themes, including the overall quality of care, meeting care needs, communication, the hospital environment and support for relatives. Results indicate that improvements can be made that build on existing good practice that will enhance the experience of care for dying persons and their relatives. The study adds insights in relation to relative’s priorities for EoLC in acute hospitals and can advance care providers’, policy makers’ and educationalists’ priorities for service improvement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T17:27:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-16d130096a65430ebc7bc719fc9962bc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-684X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T17:27:44Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Palliative Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-16d130096a65430ebc7bc719fc9962bc2022-12-22T00:17:27ZengBMCBMC Palliative Care1472-684X2019-10-0118111610.1186/s12904-019-0464-zDying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relativesDiarmuid Ó Coimín0Geraldine Prizeman1Bettina Korn2Sarah Donnelly3Geralyn Hynes4End-of-Life Care, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Quality and Patient Safety DirectorateTrinity Centre for Practice and Healthcare Innovation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College DublinEnd-of-Life Care, Hospice Friendly Hospital ProgrammeSocial Work, School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University CollegePalliative Care, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College DublinAbstract Background Internationally there is an increasing concern about the quality of end-of-life care (EoLC) provided in acute hospitals. More people are cared for at end of life and die in acute hospitals than in any other healthcare setting. This paper reports the views of bereaved relatives on the experience of care they and the person that died received during their last admission in two university adult acute tertiary hospitals. Methods Relatives of patients who died were invited to participate in a post-bereavement postal survey. An adapted version of VOICES (Views of Informal Carers - Evaluation of Services) questionnaire was used. VOICES MaJam has 36 closed questions and four open-ended questions. Data were gathered in three waves and analysed using SPSS and NVivo. 356 respondents completed the survey (46% response rate). Results The majority of respondents (87%: n = 303) rated the quality of care as outstanding, excellent or good during the last admission to hospital. The quality of care by nurses, doctors and other staff was highly rated. Overall, care needs were well met; however, findings identified areas of care which could be improved, including communication and the provision of emotional and spiritual support. In addition, relatives strongly endorsed the provision of EoLC in single occupancy rooms, the availability of family rooms on acute hospital wards and the provision of bereavement support. Conclusions This research provides a powerful snapshot in time into what works well and what could be improved in EoLC in acute hospitals. Findings are reported under several themes, including the overall quality of care, meeting care needs, communication, the hospital environment and support for relatives. Results indicate that improvements can be made that build on existing good practice that will enhance the experience of care for dying persons and their relatives. The study adds insights in relation to relative’s priorities for EoLC in acute hospitals and can advance care providers’, policy makers’ and educationalists’ priorities for service improvement.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12904-019-0464-zEnd-of-life carePalliative careAcute hospitalQuality of careBereaved relativesQuantitative |
| spellingShingle | Diarmuid Ó Coimín Geraldine Prizeman Bettina Korn Sarah Donnelly Geralyn Hynes Dying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relatives BMC Palliative Care End-of-life care Palliative care Acute hospital Quality of care Bereaved relatives Quantitative |
| title | Dying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relatives |
| title_full | Dying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relatives |
| title_fullStr | Dying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relatives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relatives |
| title_short | Dying in acute hospitals: voices of bereaved relatives |
| title_sort | dying in acute hospitals voices of bereaved relatives |
| topic | End-of-life care Palliative care Acute hospital Quality of care Bereaved relatives Quantitative |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12904-019-0464-z |
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