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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Experiences of end-of-life care in community hospitals | | Author(s) | Sheila Payne, Sheila Hawker, Chris Kerr |
| Journal title | Health and Social Care in the Community, vol 15, no 5, September 2007 |
| Pages | pp 494-501 |
| Source | http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/hsc |
| Keywords | Dying ; Terminal care ; Community hospital ; Attitude ; Informal care ; Qualitative Studies ; South West England ; South East England. |
| Annotation | Concerns remain that health and social care services often fail people dying of chronic illnesses other than those with cancer. British government policy aims to improve end-of-life care and to enable people to make choices about place of care near the end of life, with the assumption that home is often the preferred option. However, some older people may lack suitable social networks, family carers and other resources to remain at home. Community hospitals offer a potentially accessible resource for local provision of end-of-life care. They have the advantage of being located within easy reach for family members, are staffed by local people, and in most of them general practitioners can maintain continuity of care. This paper examines patients' and family carers' experiences of end-of-life care in community hospitals. In-depth organisational case studies were conducted in six community hospitals in the south of England. Interviews were undertaken with 18 patients dying of cancer and other advanced conditions and their 11 family carers. Qualitative analysis of transcribed interviews were undertaken, using the principles of grounded theory. Patients and family carers valued the flexibility, local nature (which facilitated visiting) and personal care afforded to them. Most participants regarded community hospitals as preferable to larger district general hospitals. The research reveals that these participants regarded community hospitals as acceptable places for end-of-life care. Finally, implications of findings for improving end-of-life care are discussed. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-070913206 A |
| Classmark | CX: LV: LD:PA: DP: P6: 3DP: 82Y: 82Z |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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