Abstract
Since the development of the hospice movement in the United States, care of the terminally ill has undergone vital change.’ This change involves the alternative of home care for the terminally ill. It allows the patients, the primary caregiver, and the rest of the family to be in control of care. As stated by Masters, 2 hospice is unique in that the patient and family controls the environment, and lifestyle, including treatment modalities, more than in any other concept in health care.
Hospice was developed to give people with a terminal illness an option to traditional medicine. Hospice is a concept of care that has been established to improve the quality of life of the terminally ill. Therefore, the ultimate goal of hospice care is to enhance the quality of life of patients with terminal illness, mainly cancer. 3
In the hospice setting, the nurse applies a holistic approach when planning and providing primary care. The nurse becomes increasingly more knowledgeable about the problems and strengths of the patient and family to whom he/she is caring for. The nurse must make the transition in her philosophy from cure-to-care in hospice, and symptom control being the nurses ‘priority in order to enhance the patients quality of life. Curtis and Fernsler4 explain that hospice care focuses on helping patients to communicate effectively and to share life agendas with their primary caregiver and the hospice nurse. These researchers continue to state that these efforts promote congruence between patient, primary caregiver, and the hospice nurses’ view of the patients quality of life. As a hospice nurse, I want to explore the relationship that the nurse has with his/her patients. Are hospice nurses and their patients viewing quality of life congruently? This paper provides a review of the literature concerning quality of life of the hospice patient and provides background information for future research.
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