Needs of the bereaved in a hospice setting: implications for nursing.

Nursing; care given patients on an inpatient hospice unit is intrinsically different form Nursing; care delivery in an acute care setting. Hospice units are specifically designed to help the dying and their families. This study was conducted to gain further understanding of needs of the bereaved and how consistently those needs are met by the nurse on an inpatient hospice unit. The sample consisted of 100 bereaved family members (78% return rate) who answered a mailed questionnaire. A stratified random sample of 50 spouses and 50 children of the deceased were used from January 1980 through April 1983. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire designed by the investigator to study the eight needs identified by Hampe’s (1973) research. The results of the study indicated that the bereaved associated with and inpatient hospice unit did experience the same needs as spouses whose mates were terminally ill. After the bereaved had identified their needs, they felt these needs were met all or nearly all the time by the hospice nurse. An additional need identified by the bereaved was being able to stay with the dying patient day and night in the homelike atmosphere provided on the hospice unit. Although generalizations cannot be made, several important clinical Nursing; implications are apparent. Nurses must be free to care for the emotional and physical needs of the dying patient as well as the family. The hospice nurse must develop special skills in being able to communicate with the dying and their family members. There is no specific, optimal time to communicate about death and dying. The fact that the nurse is there to provide care and comfort can communicate a sense of security and acceptance of the impending death. Recommendations for future studies were made, based on the findings of this study.