Clinician Communication in Hospice: Constructions of Reality Throughout the End-of-Life Process.

The current study examined qualitative data from hospice clinicians' perspectives on language, surrounding end-of-life (EOL), to understand challenges and opportunities for constructing a trajectory of communication leading towards a good death experience. Findings from two focus groups with nine clinicians' and 12 individual interviews, four of which were follow up interviews after the focus groups, were guided by framework analysis and revealed three themes, and We used the Opportunity Model for Presence during the End-of-Life Process (OMP-EOLP) to make sense of the findings and discuss implications for language use throughout the EOL process. We argue additional efforts should be made in recognizing the value of presence checks, re-constructing advance care planning, and utilizing different forms of media as an educational tool and connection mechanism for clinicians with patients and families to achieve a timely engagement of EOL conversations for all healthcare participants.

Problem-solving skills training in adult cancer survivors: Bright IDEAS-AC pilot study.

Purpose: Cancer patients experience significant distress and burden of decision-making throughout treatment and beyond. These stressors can interfere with their ability to make reasoned and timely decisions about their care and lead to low physical and social functioning and poor survival. This pilot study examined the impact of offering Problem-Solving Skills Training (PSST) to adult cancer survivors to help them and their caregivers cope more successfully with post-treatment decision-making burden and distress.

Expanding the Understanding of Content of End-of-Life Dreams and Visions: A Consensual Qualitative Research Analysis.

Research has established End-of-Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs) as prevalent, meaningful valid experiences that may help patients cope with illness and approaching death. However, no inductive qualitative analysis has explored the phenomenology of ELDVs from the perspective of hospice homecare patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the content of ELDVs by using a rigorous qualitative approach.

Attitudes and Perceptions of End-of-Life Dreams and Visions and Their Implication to the Bereaved Family Caregiver Experience.

Background: While the majority of research assesses the impact of end-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) on patients, more recent research has begun to explore their impact on family caregivers (FCG).

Objective: This study evaluates the relationship between general attitudes about dreams, perspectives of ELDV and their role the bereaved FCG experience.

Design: Mixed-methods using a cross-sectional survey and five focus groups.

Hospice Patient Care Goals and Medical Students' Perceptions: Evidence of a Generation Gap?

Background: The ability to perceive care goals of the dying may be an indicator of future quality patient-centered care. Research conducted on end-of-life goals indicates discrepancies between patients and physicians.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare end-of-life care goals of hospice patients and medical student perceptions of patient care goals.

The Experience of Pediatric Palliative Caregiving: A Qualitative Analysis From the Photographs of Meaning Program.

The Photographs of Meaning Program for pediatric palliative caregivers (POM-PPCG) is an innovative, meaning-based intervention utilizing photovoice and social media components. In 2017, 9 pediatric palliative caregivers participated in this intervention. During the social media portion of the POM-PPCG, participants were presented with weekly themes based on a meaning-making curriculum.

End-of-Life Dreams and Visions and Posttraumatic Growth: A Comparison Study.

End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) can provide both meaning and comfort to individuals nearing death. While research has examined the prevalence and content of ELDVs, little is known on how dreaming at end of life may affect psychological processes. This study aimed to explore differences in posttraumatic growth (PTG) between hospice patients who experience ELDVs and hospice patients who do not experience this phenomenon.

Family Caregiver Perspectives on End-of-Life Dreams and Visions during Bereavement: A Mixed Methods Approach.

End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) are prevalent experiences that provide comfort and meaning to dying individuals. Limited research has examined the impact of ELDVs on the bereaved. This study aimed to explore differences in self-reported grief for people whose loved ones shared ELDVs and those who did not, and to describe the role of ELDVs in the grieving process.

"People don't understand what goes on in here": A consensual qualitative research analysis of inmate-caregiver perspectives on prison-based end-of-life care.

Background: The age demographic of the incarcerated is quickly shifting from young to old. Correctional facilities are responsible for navigating inmate access to healthcare; currently, there is no standardization for access to end-of-life care. There is growing research support for prison-based end-of-life care programs that incorporate inmate peer caregivers as a way to meet the needs of the elderly and dying who are incarcerated.

Screening for Delirium: Development and Validation of the Buffalo Delirium Scale for Use in a Home-Based Hospice Setting.

Background: Delirium is a challenging occurrence among people at end of life. It can be difficult to detect and treat because of its episodic nature. The Buffalo Delirium Scale (BDS) was designed to identify risk factors for hospice patients in the prodromal stage of delirium.

Caregiver Self-Esteem as a Predictor of Patient Relationship Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study.

Objective: Longitudinal assessment of patient-caregiver relationships will determine whether caregiver self-esteem determines patient relationship satisfaction at end of life.

Background: Research on close relationships and caregiving supports the idea that informal caregivers' self-esteem may influence their relationships with their terminally ill loved ones. However, this connection has not yet been investigated longitudinally, nor has it been applied specifically to care recipients' relationship satisfaction.

A consensual qualitative research analysis of the experience of inmate hospice caregivers: Posttraumatic growth while incarcerated.

A growing number of correctional facilities train inmates to provide end-of-life care for dying inmates. This study explores the phenomenological perspective of inmate-caregivers participating in an inmate-facilitated hospice program (IFHP) with regard to meaning and purpose in life, attitudes on death and dying, and perceived personal impact of participation. Twenty-two inmate-caregivers were interviewed at a maximum-security state correctional facility in the United States.

Meaning-centered dream work with hospice patients: A pilot study.

Objective: Hospice patients often struggle with loss of meaning, while many experience meaningful dreams. The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary exploration into the process and therapeutic outcomes of meaning-centered dream work with hospice patients.

Method: A meaning-centered variation of the cognitive-experiential model of dream work (Hill, 1996; 2004) was tested with participants.

End-of-Life Dreams and Visions: A Qualitative Perspective From Hospice Patients.

End-of-life dreams and visions (ELDVs) are well documented throughout history and across cultures with impact on the dying person and their loved ones having profound meaning. Published studies on ELDVs are primarily based on surveys or interviews with clinicians or families of dead persons. This study uniquely examined patient dreams and visions from their personal perspective.