Publication
End of Life Outside of "Business Hours": A Retrospective Review Evaluating Time of Death and Provider Time at End of Life
Hardy-Gomez M, Grossoehme D, Strasshofer D, Brown M, Friebert S · Journal of Palliative Medicine · 2021
Introduction: Pediatric palliative care (PPC) benefits patients and families, while potentially creating emotional and resource-management burdens for providers. This study's purpose was to characterize the occurrence of deaths attended by PPC providers outside of "business hours." Methods: N = 786 PPC patients at a single center died between 2008 and 2015. Descriptive statistics were prepared for all variables (Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous; chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical). Results: N = 434 (55%) of deaths occurred outside of business hours; n = 332 (70%) were attended by PPC. Time spent attending a death was not significantly longer when other PPC providers were present but was when certain tasks were performed (coordination with medical examiner and memory making). Conclusion: The occurrence of the majority of deaths outside of business hours has significant implications for service delivery models, provider emotional health, and health care value.
Synced from the TRENDS in Pediatric Palliative Care Zotero library, curated by The Siden Research Team. ICPCN does not host or verify the full text.