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The Importance of Perspective: Evaluation of Hospice Care From Multiple Stakeholders

Panama City, Florida

Charlie Stelle, PhD

Gerontology Program, Department of Human Services, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, cstelle{at}bgsu.edu

Miriam Mulsow, PhD

Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas

Jean Pearson Scott, PhD

Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas

The literature on hospice care and palliative medicine lacks a focus on the combined and concurrent assessment of services. This deficiency is problematic because research findings are then limited in their scope and applicability to particular stakeholder groups. The current study used the perspective of 72 participants and service delivery personnel of a home-based hospice program to address this perceived problem and limitation in the literature through a program evaluation of the multiple perspectives on a single hospice organization. Interviews were analyzed by stakeholder group and then across stakeholder groups to extract themes. Results include a description of the quality of service delivery and participant satisfaction, areas of current weakness, and ideas for potential growth and development for the program. Findings from this study are compared with previous research on hospice care and the implications of the results to the provision and continued development of hospice care are discussed.

Key Words: hospice • care providers • care recipients • assessment • program evaluation • utilization-focused methodology • qualitative

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This version was published on November 1, 2007

American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, Vol. 24, No. 5, 376-382 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1049909107300760


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Hiatt, K. Articles by Pearson Scott, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hiatt, K. Articles by Pearson Scott, J. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Home Care Services Social Bookmarking                         What's this?