Making them more vulnerable: nursing insights on the irony of using questionnaires.
OBJECTIVE
Nursing insights on the experience of using standardized questionnaires during hospice care.


OBJECTIVE
To explore and describe the experience of hospice staff using questionnaires on hospice clients: whether such instruments help or hinder the holistic, compassionate hospice practice and to set this topic on the research agenda in the hope of generating critical reflection on this important aspect of hospice care.


METHODS
A cross-section of hospice staff interviewed about their experience with administering the questionnaires. (Findings from research conducted with hospice clients on their experience of questionnaires are published separately.)


CONCLUSIONS
The initial findings indicate that staff perceive questionnaires as negatively impacting on their efforts to engage in holistic and compassionate hospice practice and point to a major irony that questionnaires, designed for the supportive care of the vulnerable, actually make the vulnerable more vulnerable.
McGrath
Pam
P
International Program of Psycho-Social Health Research, Central Queensland University, Kenmore, Queensland 4069, Australia. pam_mcgrath@bigpond.com
Phillips
Emma
E
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D019985:Benchmarking; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004645:Empathy; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D006694:Holistic Health; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D011793:Queensland; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology