First Advisor

Janet Houser PhD

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

MS Health Services Administration

School

Loretto Heights

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

60 pages

Abstract

As the patterns of morbidity and mortality in the United States shift toward chronic illness requiring the need for quality continuous care over extended periods of time, more research has been devoted to end-of-life care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Pathways palliative care program at the Denver Hospice as seen through the eyes of patient caregivers. Nine caregivers were interviewed in order to determine their perceptions of the Pathways program and a thematic analysis of their responses was performed. Results of the thematic analysis, as confirmed by a second reviewer, yielded very positive feelings towards the Pathways program (Cohen’s Kappa = 0.862). Respondents continually stated a deep sense of having a burden lifted with the knowledge that help as a phone call away and that the help would come quickly, and this peace of mind prevented the majority of the caregivers from helplessly taking their loved one to the emergency room. Overall, all nine of the caregivers were very impressed with the Pathways program, and in particular, the Pathways staff.

Date of Award

2008

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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