TY - JOUR
T1 - The Lived Experience of Physical Separation for Hospice Patients and Families amid COVID-19
AU - Washington, Karla T.
AU - Piontek, Amy
AU - Jabbari, Jo Ann
AU - Benson, Jacquelyn J.
AU - Demiris, George
AU - Tatum, Paul E.
AU - Oliver, Debra Parker
N1 - Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number R01CA203999 (Principal Investigator: Parker Oliver) registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT02929108 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors have no conflicts to disclose relevant to the conduct or publication of the research described in this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - Context: Many hospice patients were physically separated from family members and healthcare professionals during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: Researchers sought to describe the lived experience of physical separation for hospice patients and family caregivers who adhered to public health guidelines intended to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. Methods: Researchers performed a secondary analysis of qualitative data collected during a multi-site clinical trial of an intervention that incorporated family caregivers into care plan reviews during biweekly hospice interdisciplinary team meetings. Twenty-eight adult family caregivers of hospice patients with cancer participated in at least one care plan review between March 7, 2020 and June 10, 2020. The final analytic dataset included the transcribed content of 60 care plan reviews, which were analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Hospice patients and their family caregivers experienced physical separation as interrupted care that resulted in the potential for unmet informational, functional, and social and emotional needs. Connection strategies employed to adapt to care interruptions and address patient and caregiver needs were not consistently effective. Conclusion: Inclusive, innovative connection strategies are needed to ensure that high-quality end-of-life care is provided to hospice patients and their family caregivers when physical presence must be limited.
AB - Context: Many hospice patients were physically separated from family members and healthcare professionals during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: Researchers sought to describe the lived experience of physical separation for hospice patients and family caregivers who adhered to public health guidelines intended to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. Methods: Researchers performed a secondary analysis of qualitative data collected during a multi-site clinical trial of an intervention that incorporated family caregivers into care plan reviews during biweekly hospice interdisciplinary team meetings. Twenty-eight adult family caregivers of hospice patients with cancer participated in at least one care plan review between March 7, 2020 and June 10, 2020. The final analytic dataset included the transcribed content of 60 care plan reviews, which were analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Hospice patients and their family caregivers experienced physical separation as interrupted care that resulted in the potential for unmet informational, functional, and social and emotional needs. Connection strategies employed to adapt to care interruptions and address patient and caregiver needs were not consistently effective. Conclusion: Inclusive, innovative connection strategies are needed to ensure that high-quality end-of-life care is provided to hospice patients and their family caregivers when physical presence must be limited.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Caregivers
KW - family
KW - hospices
KW - patients
KW - social isolation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126626459&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.02.019
DO - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.02.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 35192877
AN - SCOPUS:85126626459
SN - 0885-3924
VL - 63
SP - 971
EP - 979
JO - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
JF - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
IS - 6
ER -