Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Priscilla Gazarian

Second Advisor

Janice Foust

Third Advisor

Terry Eng, Susan Lysaght-Hurley

Abstract

The Medicare Hospice Benefit Policy dictates that the emotional needs of hospice patients must be met, however does not provide a definition or guidelines as to how these needs may be met. The purpose of this study was to explore how nurses working for Medicare-certified hospice organizations across the United States meet the emotional needs of hospice patients. The primary aim was to explore how nurses employed by Medicare-certified hospice organizations define and meet the emotional needs of hospice patients in accordance with the Medicare Hospice Benefit Policy. The secondary aim was to explore and document the domain of emotional needs as perceived by Medicare-certified hospice organization nurses and patients through definition of terms and concepts. This mixed-methods study utilized a convergent design to explore the phenomenon of defining and meeting emotional needs of hospice patients. Discrepancies between perceived and actual emotional needs were recognized, leading to implications for policy and practice.

Comments

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