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Hospice Employees’ Perceptions of Their Work Environment: A Focus Group Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca H. Lehto

    (College of Nursing, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA)

  • Carrie Heeter

    (Department of Media and Information, Communication Arts & Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824)

  • Jeffrey Forman

    (Former Medical Director of Development, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI 48201, USA)

  • Tait Shanafelt

    (Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94304, USA)

  • Arif Kamal

    (Department of Medicine, Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA)

  • Patrick Miller

    (Hospice of Michigan, 2366 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA)

  • Michael Paletta

    (Hospice of Michigan, 2366 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA)

Abstract

Burnout in healthcare professionals can lead to adverse effects on physical and mental health, lower quality of care, and workforce shortages as employees leave the profession. Hospice professionals are thought to be at particularly high risk for burnout. The purpose of the study was to evaluate workplace perceptions of interdisciplinary hospice care workers who provide care to patients at end of life. Six focus groups and one semi-structured interview were conducted with mixed group of social workers, managers, nurses, hospice aides, chaplains, support staff, and a physician ( n = 19). Findings from the groups depicted both rewards and challenges of hospice caregiving. Benefits included intrinsic satisfaction from the work, receiving positive patient and family feedback, and teamwork. Challenges reflected issues with workload, technology issues, administrative demands, travel-related problems, communication and interruptions, difficulties with taking time off from work and maintaining work-life integration, and coping with witnessing grief/loss. Hospice workers glean satisfaction from making meaningful differences in the lives of patients with terminal illness and their family members. It is an expected part of the job that certain patients and situations are particularly distressing; team support and targeted grief support is available for those times. Participants indicated that workload and administrative demands rather than dealing with death and dying were the biggest contributors to burnout. Participants reported episodic symptoms of burnout followed by deliberate steps to alleviate these symptoms. Notably, for all except one of the participants, burnout was cyclical. Symptoms would begin, they would take steps to deal with it (e.g., taking a mental health day), and they recovered. At an organizational level, a multipronged approach that includes both personal and occupational strategies is needed to support professional caregivers and help mitigate the stressors associated with hospice work.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca H. Lehto & Carrie Heeter & Jeffrey Forman & Tait Shanafelt & Arif Kamal & Patrick Miller & Michael Paletta, 2020. "Hospice Employees’ Perceptions of Their Work Environment: A Focus Group Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:17:p:6147-:d:403269
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nunzia Nappo, 2019. "Is there an association between working conditions and health? An analysis of the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-15, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tahereh Abdollahi & Shadan Pedram Razi & Daryoush Pahlevan & Mir Saeed Yekaninejad & Sara Amaniyan & Christina Leibold Sieloff & Mojtaba Vaismoradi, 2020. "Effect of an Ergonomics Educational Program on Musculoskeletal Disorders in Nursing Staff Working in the Operating Room: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-12, October.
    2. Carrie Heeter & Marcel Allbritton & Rebecca Lehto & Patrick Miller & Patricia McDaniel & Michael Paletta, 2021. "Feasibility, Acceptability, and Outcomes of a Yoga-Based Meditation Intervention for Hospice Professionals to Combat Burnout," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-27, March.
    3. Doris Y. P. Leung & Helen Y. L. Chan, 2020. "Palliative and End-of-Life Care: More Work is Required," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-7, October.
    4. Anne Armant & Florian Ollierou & Jules Gauvin & Christine Jeoffrion & Baptiste Cougot & Mathias Waelli & Leila Moret & Kristina Beauvivre & Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi & Gilles Berrut & Dominique Tripodi, 2021. "Psychosocial and Organizational Processes and Determinants of Health Care Workers’ (HCW) Health at Work in French Public EHPAD (Assisted Living Residences): A Qualitative Approach Using Grounded Theor," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-23, July.

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