Patient speaking: hospice patients discuss their care.

Much research examines the effects of hospice assistance on the primary caregivers of hospice patients, but very little systematic research has investigated the perceptions of hospice patients themselves of the care they receive. This researcher asked 38 hospice patients whether and how hospice provided comfort, allowing the patients to guide discussion of services. Patients reported that hospice helped them by providing human contact, allowing open discussion and communication with other health professionals, providing assistance with tasks they could no longer do for themselves, and providing physical measures to alleviate discomfort.