"The Crossover to Hospice": Perspectives of Home Healthcare Nurses and Social Workers. (June 2023) - Osakwe, Zainab Toteh
Background: Although home healthcare(HHC) clinicians increasingly provide care to a homebound population with advanced illness and high symptom burden, we know little about how HHC clinicians navigate discussions about hospice with patients and families in this setting. Objective: We sought to explore perspectives on transition from HHC to hospice among HHC nurses and social workers. Design: PQualitative study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Results: Fifteen nurses and 3 Social workers participated in the study. Four main themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Regulatory Forces of Hospice and HHC; (2) Structure of HHC; (3) Individual beliefs—Hospice means giving up; and (4) Dynamics of Communication in HHC to Facilitate Transitions to Hospice. Conclusion: Introducing the option of hospice to patients and families nearing end-of-life in the HHC setting is complex and challenging. Facilitators of hospice discussions in the HHC setting include interdisciplinary team-based clinical review, clinical decision support tools to identify patients who are hospice-eligible, and staff training. These factors provide targets for future interventions.