Abstract
Growing numbers of terminally ill older adults receive hospice services in adult family homes (AFHs); however, little is known about the provision and receipt of end-of-life care in such environments. This article reports findings from a qualitative exploration of family members' perspectives of the hospice experience in AFHs. Analysis of data obtained during interviews of 15 residents' family members exposed significant challenges associated with transition to an AFH, highlighted the importance of AFH and hospice staff in family members' assessment of overall quality of care, and emphasized the critical nature of communication in AFH settings.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 159-174 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Gerontological Social Work |
Volume | 54 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 14 2011 |
Funding
Received 25 May 2010; accepted 26 October 2010. This project was funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Nursing Research Grant R21NR010744 (G. Demiris, Principal Investigator). Address correspondence to Karla T. Washington, MSW, PhD, Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville, 217 Oppenheimer Hall, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords
- Adult family home
- Family
- Hospices
- Long-term care
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Nursing (miscellaneous)
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)