Posted: September 7th, 2024

Hospice Care for Terminally Ill

Hospice Care for Terminally Ill

Terminal illness is a condition of prolonged illness especially of a chronic disease like cancer or cardiovascular disease that is likely to lead to the death of the patient. The terminal illness may be present as a single disease or multiple health condition in which the health care team, carers, and the family understand that the condition is likely to lead to the death of the patient. The period a patient is likely to live with terminal illness mainly depends on the patient’s health condition and the treatment and the care he/she receives. Hospice or palliative care plays a major role in restoring hope and improving the comfort of the patient while enhancing family satisfaction on health care service provision (Kerry, 2008). Hospice care, therefore, plays a major health care role when properly provided by dedicated nurses or healthcare providers to the terminally ill patient, enabling him/her lead a comfortable life during his last days as discussed herein.
The terminally ill patient can either be taken care in healthcare centers and hospitals or provided with hospice care at their home. The family or caregivers are expected to establish a complex partnership with health care agencies and detention facility to ensure the provision of peaceful death that depicts comfortability and established dignity to the terminally ill patient (Johnson-Swagerty, 2012). For instance, some terminally ill patient may prefer to remain at their home instead of detention centers as they may need more basic care. This situation requires a broad collaboration among the family, healthcare unit, and the visiting nurses (Yennurajalingam, 2018). Hospice house care is more preferable as it provides as it ensures excellent care for the patient while meeting the need for the community. In such cases, the home context is the best environment to provide hospice care for terminally ill patients.
As a health condition, terminal illness has stressed many families in the United State as they strive to provide respect and comfort to their patients during their last days of living. The society has developed a perspective which requires individuals and families to take good care of their patients at their critical conditions. The effectiveness of hospice care for terminally ill patients depends on the level of training provided to the caregivers and the health and death perspective of the family. Services provided provides the patient with a comfortable environment during the period of illness and strategies to cope with grief for the family and caregivers (Chang, 2018). For the provision of appropriate and effective hospice care for terminally ill patients, the nursing personnel needs to be equipped with effective social support and proper training for the task.
Adapting palliative care and enhancing hospice care approaches has indicated a great impact in the healthcare environment on care provision to terminally ill patients. The services have enabled a close interaction between individuals and the families thus improving the quality of life of the patient during his/her last days. Effective hospice care enables the patient to live actively while enhancing his relationship with the family until death (Paul, 2016). Proper training of the nurses on palliative care improves service delivery which creates a connection between society and healthcare. Appropriate and enhanced hospice care is therefore enhanced by providing appropriate training to healthcare providers and promoting the social relationship between the healthcare providers and the community.
Nurses and health care providers are obligated to ensure that patients are provided with quality and effective care until their last day of living. In most cases, nurses are assigned to attend terminally ill patients at their homes. The cost of maintaining a patient at the hospital care becomes more expensive and therefore the healthcare department provides homecare alternative (Bayer, Callahan, Fletcher, Hodgson, & Jennings, 2015). Such services equip nurses with a vast knowledge of social norms and cultural practices toward illness and death. The program has also enhanced the nursing relationship with the community through close interaction during palliative care services.
Equipping nurses with appropriate training would greatly improve their knowledge of handling terminally ill patients in both religious and professional way. Healthcare providers provide comforts to the terminally ill by addressing their physical, social, psychological, and spiritual need thus reducing their pains and struggles (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2019). The healthcare providers, therefore, need to be properly trained to perform the expected duties for the benefit of the patient, family, and the entire society. Creation of awareness to the society on the importance of hospice care for terminally ill also would greatly impact service delivery and improving the lives of the patients.

References
Bayer, R., Callahan, D., Fletcher, J., Hodgson, T., & Jennings, B. (2015). The Care of the Terminally Ill: Morality and Economics | NEJM. Retrieved from https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM198312153092405
Chang, W. P. (2018). How social support affects the ability of clinical nursing personnel to cope with death. Applied Nursing Research, 44, 25-32. doi:10.1016/j.apnr.2018.09.005
Johnson-Swagerty M. (2012). Hospice Care of America Partners With County Jail to Care for Terminally Ill Inmate. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 10(5), 258-259. doi:10.1097/01.njh.0000319168.66090.19
Kerry, H. (2008). A Spreading Appreciation for the Benefits of Hospice Care. Putting terminally ill patients at ease in their final months.
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019, January 30). Hospice care: Comforting the terminally ill. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/end-of-life/in-depth/hospice-care/art-20048050
Paul, S. (2016). Working with Communities to Develop Resilience in End of Life and Bereavement Care: Hospices, Schools and Health Promoting Palliative Care. Journal of Social Work Practice, 30(2), 187-201. doi:10.1080/02650533.2016.1168383
Standards for home care services for the terminally ill. (1982). Journal of Public Health. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubmed.a043567
Yennurajalingam, S. (2018). Research in Terminally Ill Patients. Hospice and Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care Flashcards, 661-666. doi:10.1093/med/9780190633066.003.0039

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