Date of Award
8-2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Legacy Department
Nursing
Committee Chair/Advisor
Craig, Janet
Committee Member
Meehan , Nancy
Committee Member
Spitler , Hugh
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Despite increased national debate regarding quality of life and quality of care at the end of life, patients in the United States continue to die primarily in hospitals experiencing a myriad of distressing symptoms, leaving caregivers and healthcare professionals wondering if caring for the dying will ever change in this country. There are alternatives available, but it is necessary to assess current conditions for dying patients in order to change the status quo in end of life care. Profiling how patients experience the last few months of life, as well as their terminal hospital stay, is a starting point for just such an assessment.
The following manuscript outlines the purpose of profiling dying populations and provides a framework for compiling profile data for patients who expire in an institutional setting. Utilizing Myra Levine's four conservation principles of nursing care, the following study examines quality indicators identified for end of life care and discusses these domains with regard to specific decline-to-death disease trajectory groups identified in the study.
Recommended Citation
Murton, Catherine, "Profiling the Quality of End of Life Care" (2007). All Theses. 214.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/214