Hospice as Experienced by LTC Nurses and Their Perception of Resident Experiences

Objectives: This study utilized qualitative methods to better understand long-term care (LTC) nursing staff’s experience with hospice services and their perceptions of resident choice to utilize hospice services, as well as understand differences LTC nurses have experienced in regards to resident deaths. Methods: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was utilized to extract themes and subthemes from 10 interviews that occurred with LTC nursing staff. Content analysis was also utilized to extract one noteworthy concept, which was a comparison of two resident deaths, with and without the utilization of hospice services.Results: Three main themes were extracted from the data: LTC nursing participant’s positive view of hospice, their perception that residents view hospice very negatively, and why residents choose to utilize hospice services. Participants also identified aspects of a “bad” or “good” death, with clear relationships noted when using hospice services. Conclusions: Findings identified a difference between the LTC nursing staff’s positive view of hospice and their belief that their residents view hospice services very negatively. According to these nurses’ experiences, to most residents, hospice meant something rather negative and feared. Clinical Implications: An intervention providing information about hospice services for LTC resident population may increase the percentage of older adults who utilize hospice services.