title: Caregivers' satisfaction with hospice care in the last 24 hours of life.
abstract: The goals of this study were to identify elements of care that contributed to positive and negative perceptions of hospice care in the last 24 hours of life, and to define patient and family characteristics that are associated with satisfaction with care during this difficult period. Surveys were sent to 207 primary caregivers, and 112 surveys were returned. This study reports four findings that elucidate the factors that make family members more or less satisfied with the care that their loved one received during the last day of life, and how satisfaction with this period of care should be measured.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics, Division of Geriatrics, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Casarett
authors.forename: Karen B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Hirschman
authors.forename: Roxane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: Linda D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Galbraith
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001601:Bereavement; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric