Oncology social workers' attitudes toward hospice care and referral behavior.
Members of the Association of Oncology Social Workers completed a survey, which included the Hospice Philosophy Scale (HPS) assessing the likelihood of the worker referring a terminally ill patient to hospice, background and experience, and demographics. The respondents held overwhelmingly favorable attitudes toward hospice philosophy and care, yet the average proportion of terminally ill patients whom they referred to hospice was only 49.5 percent. The worker's HPS score was related significantly, although weakly, to the likelihood of referral. A follow-up study was undertaken to determine the reasons for the discrepancy between the workers' self-reported favorable attitudes toward hospice and their relatively low rate of patient referral. The factor identified most frequently was resistance from families because of the requirement that hospice patients discontinue active treatment.
Becker
Janet E
JE
School of Social Work, Hunter College, New York, USA. Nydocjan@aol.com
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016522:Oncology Service, Hospital; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012947:Social Work / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States