Dataset Information

'That just doesn't feel right at times' - lone working practices, support and educational needs of newly employed Healthcare Assistants providing 24/7 palliative care in the community: A qualitative interview study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Healthcare assistants working in hospice at home settings have a pivotal role in supporting people dying at home and their family caregivers. Some healthcare assistants are working alone in patients' homes, which magnifies some of the issues reported for those working closely with other team members. There is a dearth of evidence in terms of education, training and support needs for healthcare assistants when working alone.

Aim

To explore the role of newly employed lone working healthcare assistants delivering palliative care in the community, and their support and educational needs.

Design

Qualitative exploratory study using semi-structured interviews.

Setting/participants

Healthcare assistants (n = 16) employed less than 12 months by a national non-profit hospice and palliative care provider located across the UK.

Results

Analysis of interviews identified three main themes: (1) Healthcare assistants have a unique and complex role catering for holistic needs of patients and their family caregivers in the home environment; (2) preparation for the complex role requires focus on experiential learning and specific training to support holistic care provision; (3) lone workers experience loneliness and isolation and identify peer support as a key intervention to support their wellbeing.

Conclusions

Given the complexities of their role within community palliative care teams, there are key learning points in relation to healthcare assistant preparation. Education and support networks should be prioritised to reduce isolation and support ongoing learning and development of newly employed healthcare assistants; all of which is vital to ensure safety and quality of care for the growing number of people they support in the community.

SUBMITTER: Patynowska KA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10503246 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

'That just doesn't feel right at times' - lone working practices, support and educational needs of newly employed Healthcare Assistants providing 24/7 palliative care in the community: A qualitative interview study.

Patynowska Katarzyna A KA McConnell Tracey T McAtamney Colette C Hasson Felicity F

Palliative medicine 20230619 8

<h4>Background</h4>Healthcare assistants working in hospice at home settings have a pivotal role in supporting people dying at home and their family caregivers. Some healthcare assistants are working alone in patients' homes, which magnifies some of the issues reported for those working closely with other team members. There is a dearth of evidence in terms of education, training and support needs for healthcare assistants when working alone.<h4>Aim</h4>To explore the role of newly employed lone ...[more]

PMID: 37334445

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Project description:BackgroundTo investigate the value of a novel simulation-based palliative care educational intervention within an emergency medicine (EM) residency curriculum.MethodsA palliative care scenario was designed and implemented in the simulation program at an urban academic emergency department (ED) with a 3-year EM residency program. EM residents attended one of eight high-fidelity simulation sessions, in groups of 5-6. A standardized participant portrayed the patient's family member. One resident from each session managed the scenario while the others observed. A 45-min debriefing session and small group discussion followed the scenario, facilitated by an EM simulation faculty member and a resident investigator. Best practices in palliative care were highlighted along with focused learner performance feedback. Participants completed an anonymous pre/post education intervention survey.ResultsForty of 42 EM residents (95%) participated in the study. Confidence in implementing palliative care skills and perceived importance of palliative care improved after this educational intervention. Specifically, residents 1) felt EM physicians had an important role in palliative care, 2) had increased confidence in the ability to determine patient decision-making capacity, 3) had improved confidence in initiating palliative discussions/treatment, 4) believed palliative education was important in residency, and 5) felt simulation was an effective means to learn palliative care. Differences noted between PGY1 and PGY 3 training levels in survey responses disappeared post-intervention. Residents noted being most comfortable with delivering bad news and symptom management and least comfortable with disease prognostication. Residents reported time constraints and implementation logistics in the ED as the most challenging factors for palliative care initiation.ConclusionOur case-based simulation intervention was associated with an increase in both the perceived importance of ED palliative care and self-reported confidence in implementing palliative care skills. Time constraints and implementation logistics were rated as the most challenging factors for palliative care initiation in the ED.

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Dataset Information

'That just doesn't feel right at times' - lone working practices, support and educational needs of newly employed Healthcare Assistants providing 24/7 palliative care in the community: A qualitative interview study.

Background

Aim

Design

Setting/participants

Results

Conclusions

Publications

'That just doesn't feel right at times' - lone working practices, support and educational needs of newly employed Healthcare Assistants providing 24/7 palliative care in the community: A qualitative interview study.

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