A Qualitative Analysis of Information Sharing in Hospice Interdisciplinary Group Meetings.
Karla T Washington, George Demiris, Debra Parker Oliver and 3 others
PMID 28193105WHAT IT FOUND
Hospice staff value psychosocial and spiritual patient information but rarely discuss it in meetings.
Nurses, social workers and chaplains want data on goals, decline and uncontrolled symptoms to guide care, suggesting better tools could make sharing this information efficient.
Key findings
01Staff expressed a desire for information on physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs to support whole-person care, with nurses specifically noting they alter assessments based on social work reports of depression.
02Functional status and evidence of decline were regarded as key concerns for determining hospice appropriateness, with pain being the most commonly discussed physical symptom.
03While psychosocial and spiritual information was valued by providers of all disciplines, it was infrequently discussed in explicit terms during video-recorded meetings.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Data were collected only in the Midwestern United States, so findings may not apply to hospice agencies in other regions. Interviews were short (10-36 minutes), which limited the breadth of data collected. Interview data (2015) and video data (2011) were collected at different times, which may affect the compatibility of the two sources. The study explored provider attitudes and priorities, which may not align with what is actually discussed in meetings.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that hospice staff are uninterested in psychosocial and spiritual information. The study found that staff of all disciplines valued this information, but it was rarely discussed explicitly in meetings, likely due to efficiency and cost pressures rather than a lack of interest.