Living in the face of death: interviews with 12 terminally ill women on home hospice care.

Objective: To determine how home hospice patients deal with their impending death and whether there is a need for greater involvement of mental health professionals in the care of patients dying at home.

Method: In a pilot study, 12 female home hospice patients with advanced cancer and a median survival time of 42 days were assessed using structured interviews and brief questionnaires. Topics of inquiry included facing death, fear of death, pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety.