Browsing by Subject "Hospice care"
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Item A hospice at Villa Rosa for San Antonio, Texas(Texas Tech University, 1978-05) Lewis, Roy LlewellynNot availableItem Hospice: a thesis in the terminal space of architecture Bergama, Turkiye(Texas Tech University, 1998-12) Oeser, Ian DavidNoneItem Improving end-of-life care(2016-08) Plocher, Susannah Townsend; Olmstead, Todd; Jones, BarbaraThe purpose of this report is to examine our attitudes towards end-of-life care and assess the systems of reimbursement and quality measurement that support and sustain it. This report is divided into two primary sections: the first, Culture, explores the culture of end-of-life care, from its historical roots and development to its slow integration into modern medicine. The second, Infrastructure, focuses on the Medicare Hospice Benefit and quality measurement under the Affordable Care Act. Under healthcare reform, reimbursement is now more than ever tied to quality and as such the two systems operate in close concert. Their influence on the provision and assessment of end-of-life care is significant, and this report analyzes flaws in each that undermine their potential to truly advance quality, person-centered care. This report ends with recommendations for improvement for both reimbursement and quality measurement, with the sincere hope that by strengthening the structures that support end-of-life care, we will better support patients and their families.Item Preparing for the untimely death of a family member: a qualitative study of the role of hospice service in partner-caregiver bereavement(Texas Tech University, 1999-05) Springer, Nicole P.The purpose of this study was to identify the elements of hospice services that contribute to partner-caregiver bereavement of young widows/widowers. This research addressed partner-caregivers' perceptions of and meaning derived from their experiences with hospice professionals leading up to and following the death of their partner. Partner-caregivers of terminally ill hospice patients who died approximately eight months prior to the study were interviewed about the role of hospice services in terms of their grief process/experience. Ten partner-caregivers (with children living in the home ages 19 or younger) volunteered to participate in the interview process. Each audiotaped interview was transcribed. The interview data analyses indicated that the participants were not fully aware of the scope of services provided by hospice and reported that they wished they had been on service sooner. Some of the participants described the hospice professionals as "like family." Participants highlighted the timeliness of service and availability of the hospice professionals, described the attitude of hospice professionals as genuinely caring, and reported that hospice professionals demonstrated through their actions that "it wasn't just a job." Participants shared feedback about what things would have enhanced their experience with hospice. Despite less helpful interactions reported by some participants (e.g., hospice staff were too direct/not direct enough about informing them of the nearness to death), a majority of participants stated they could not have survived their partner's death without hospice and that they would recommend hospice to others. Recommendations for further research directions on the role of hospice service in partner-caregiver bereavement are provided.Item The importance of persepective: evaluating hospice care from multiple points of view(Texas Tech University, 2003-08) Kobiskie, Kelly ElizabethHospice is an important philosophy of care for terminally ill individuals seeking quality at the end of life. Previous studies have focused on the evaluation of hospice, palliative, and related programs, but none have surveyed the combined perspectives of all individual disciplines and participants involved in the hospice program. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the perspectives of participants and service delivery personnel of the hospice program to derive current experiences and assess overall satisfaction with the program, as well as gather ideas for future program development and enhancement to better serve its clients and the community. The setting for the study was a home-based hospice, located in a southwestern city, serving a 16-county area. Face-toface, tape-recorded interviews were conducted with 19 referring physicians, 19 staff members, eight bereaved family members, five current family members, four community members, and two patients. In addition, 16 volunteers participated in three focus groups. Interview questions varied depending on the study participants' involvement with the hospice program. After the interviews and focus groups were completed, they were transcribed verbatim for analysis. The interviews were analyzed by group (i.e., staff, family members, etc.) and by comparing across stakeholder groups to extract common themes. Analysis includes a description of the quality of service delivery and the satisfaction of participants, as well as ideas for potential growth and development for the program. Finally, strengths and limitations of the present study are addressed as well as ideas for future research.