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Biomedical subjects

T A Welk

Publications and source records attributed to T A Welk.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Attitudes, values, beliefs, and practices surrounding end-of-life care in selected Kansas communities.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to better meet end-of-life care needs for patients and their families in rural Kansas communities. METHODS: Initially, statistical information indicated an underutilization of hospice services in rural communities. To evaluate the data, focus groups were conducted in targeted communities in order to determine attitudes, values, beliefs, and practices surrounding end-of-life care. A script was developed using established focus group protocols. Each focus group was recorded and the tapes were transcribed. Transcripts were reviewed and categorized for similarities and emerging key issues. RESULTS: Five major areas of concern were identified using this methodology. Major concerns were: (1) participants believed that control over decisions about care at the end of life is the patient's right; (2) while participants saw a need for advance directives, they avoided using them; (3) group participants believed that the patient's wishes should be given first priority and this was viewed as a patient's right; (4) there was an expressed lack of trust in the existing health care system and its providers; and (5) participants expressed more fear over the manner of death than death itself. They fear a technological death as opposed to a good death. CONCLUSIONS: The values most important to the group participants included: freedom and independence, trust, honesty, the right to information, and the importance of family. This information will be utilized in the development of programs and interventions to effect changes in end-of-life care, not only in Kansas, but also in areas with a comparable population.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An educational model for explaining hospice services.

Explaining the concept and philosophy of hospice can be difficult. There is a reluctance in our society to openly address dying/death issues; there is a reluctance on the part of many health-care professionals to look beyond physical issues. The following model has been used successfully to explain hospice to both the general public and health care professionals. It is not intended to introduce hospice to a patient/family during the initial referral/assessment visit.

Health Education↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The hospice volunteer: a person of hospitality.

Volunteers are integral members of the hospice interdisciplinary team. They are distinguished from other members of the team only by role, not by expectation. The distinction is not between "volunteer" and "professional," because every team member is to be professional in the best sense of that word. If a distinction is to be made, it is that some hospice staff members are salaried while others donate their services. Volunteer staff members are expected to be as responsible and accountable as every other member of the team. ALL staff members must realize the importance of taking care of personal needs in order to be able to care for others. Even though the following article deals primarily with the volunteer hospice staff member, the points outlined can just as easily be applied to the salaried staff member.

Hospices↗
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Hospice and the AMA.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

American Medical Association↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Family surveys: measuring more than just satisfaction.

A satisfaction survey can be beneficial to an agency if it is carefully planned and designed to facilitate quality feedback. The survey should be as short as possible and not appear to the respondent as an ominous task to complete. Care should be taken in developing the appropriate questions, asked in an objective manner that invites a positive or negative response. If possible, the capability should be developed to associate individual responses with the patient's demographic information. This linkage allows for further analysis and identification of characteristics of those who respond favorably and those who do not. Length of stay, patient days, a specific county, a staff team, or particular staff members are but a few examples of analysis criteria that might produce valuable information and possible focus for improvements.

Family↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical and ethical considerations of fluid and electrolyte management in the terminally ill client.

Modern medicine has at its disposal a vast array of technology to provide support for basic human functions that have been compromised by trauma or disease. These are frequently referred to as life-support interventions, without which life could not be sustained beyond either an immediate or relatively short period of time. This includes support for basic physiologic activities such as respiration, circulation, kidney function, and food and fluid needs. Among the many medical interventions available to circumvent life-threatening situations that jeopardize these basic functions, artificial nutrition/hydration poses the greatest challenges. Various factors must be considered and weighed in coming to a decision about the appropriateness or inappropriateness of using the technology available to provide nutrition and hydration. These factors include clinical, ethical, legal and emotional considerations.

Decision Making↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Life-support and end-of-life questions: treatment or intervention?

Advances in medical care during the past hundred years have been phenomenal. Before modern times, little could be done to overcome life-threatening situations from injury, trauma, or disease. Most interventions were counterproductive; they did more harm than good. It has been during the last 30 years that medicine has been able to save more lives than cause death.

Decision Making↗