Abstract
Background:
The contemporary scientific literature documents a lack of attention toward the act of consoling put into practice by health care professionals (HCPs) in hospice services.
Objective:
To describe the act of consoling and its meaning for hospice-employed HCPs.
Design:
A multicenter observational survey study was performed through a paper-based questionnaire.
Subjects:
The study was sent to the directors of 10 hospices in Northern Italy and distributed to 232 HCPs.
Results:
A total of 218 HCPs responded (94%). The results showed that most HCPs consider the practice of consoling to be essential to their profession, but they also underscored the extreme complexity of the process.
Conclusion:
The act of consoling is not simply a professional duty defined in contractual clauses. Rather, it is a set of specific communicative practices and skills required of HCPs.
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