MidCentral Health, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
J Palliat Med. 2011 May;14(5):623-30. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2010.0470. Epub 2011 Apr 12.
Understanding current end of life (EOL) care delivery in acute care is an important prerequisite to positively influencing practice, and published New Zealand (NZ) and international data are limited. Therefore, staff perceptions of EOL care in the hospital setting were investigated via survey. This article presents key findings.
A total of 610 staff members in a 194-bed regional hospital were surveyed regarding their perceptions of EOL care, which yielded a response rate of 29% with 179 surveys returned. Respondents were from medical, nursing, and allied health staff working in medical, surgical, elder health, and a regional cancer treatment service. Responses to Likert scale statements regarding the Care of the dying, Communication, Teamwork, Documentation, Attitudes to death and dying in the workplace, and Barriers to the care of patients, their whānau (a NZ Māori word that refers to extended family or family group), and families frequently contrasted with additional and explanatory comments. The thematic analysis of written text identified five themes: The reality of care, The team dynamic, The direction of care, Knowledge and education, and Environmental and organizational factors.
The quality and timeliness of EOL care was significantly influenced by the elements informing the themes and the pervasive nature and importance of communication. Meeting the needs of dying patients in acute care was complex but a significant priority for staff.
了解急性护理临终关怀的现状是积极影响实践的重要前提，而发表的新西兰（NZ）和国际数据有限。因此，通过调查研究了医院环境中工作人员对临终关怀的看法。本文介绍了主要发现。
对一家拥有 194 张床位的 194 床区域医院的 610 名工作人员进行了临终关怀看法调查，回应率为 29%，共收回 179 份调查。受访者来自医疗、护理和联合健康工作人员，工作于医疗、外科、老年健康和区域癌症治疗服务。对有关临终关怀、沟通、团队合作、文档记录、对工作场所中死亡和临终的态度以及患者、他们的 whānau（一个 NZ 毛利语词，指扩展家庭或家庭群体）和家庭关怀障碍的利克特量表陈述的回应经常与附加和解释性评论形成对比。对书面文本的主题分析确定了五个主题：护理的现实、团队动态、护理方向、知识和教育以及环境和组织因素。
临终关怀的质量和及时性受到主题要素和普遍存在且重要的沟通的显著影响。满足急性护理中临终患者的需求虽然复杂，但却是工作人员的重要优先事项。
