Kontakt 2008, 10(1):52-61 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2008.007

Hospice - alternative taking care of terminally diseased and dying peopleNursing

Monika Naďová^1,*, Veronika Likavčanová²

¹ Katolícka Univerzita v Ružomberku, Fakulta zdravotníctva, katedra ošetrovateľstva

² Kompliment® inštitút redukcie a prevencie nadváhy, Žilina

In their contribution, the authors intend to point out the philosophy of hospices and emphasize the method of taking care providing saving of the human dignity for dying persons. The hospice is a place, which is considered as the last place in the life of incurably diseased and dying people. It helps them to live as long as possible and in the most quality way with feelings of hope till the last moment. Taking care of terminally diseased patients, dying people and their family members is a tedious work calling for a complex attitude. The most effective solution is just the hospice and hospice care. The hospice care is currently being provided by the form of in-house hospice care, ambulatory, stationary and hospital-type hospice care. The principal unit in providing the hospice care is a multidisciplinary team, which is focused on improving the quality of the remaining life of the patient and supporting his/her family encountering the fatal disease. The patient and family are equivalent members of the team. Nurses are important persons in the management of general taking care of dying people.
In a survey, the authors analyze answers of nurses working in the hospice and in the other health facilities, where they meet persons at terminal stage of the life and dying people. The purpose of the survey was to demonstrate facts and differences in the care provided for dying people in hospices and in other health facilities. The survey is aimed at three circuits. The first one concerns knowledge and skill of nurses necessary for the work with dying people. The second circuit determines how the nurses perceive the provided complex care for dying people and their relatives and the third one examines the effects of the work with dying people on standpoints and values of nurses. In the conclusive part of the contribution, there is a discussion, in which the research results are compared with opinions and experience of different authors. Proposals and recommendations for practice are presented within the scope of the propagation of the idea of the hospice and improvement of taking care of dying people.

Keywords: hospice; taking care in hospices; palliative treatment; patient at terminal stage; dying patients; dying; nurses

Received: January 18, 2008; Accepted: April 28, 2008; Prepublished online: June 28, 2008; Published: July 27, 2008  Show citation