Paramedics' experiences and educational needs when participating end-of-life care at home: A mixed method study.
Palliat Med
; 36(8): 1217-1227, 2022 09.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35922966
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Paramedics face end-of-life care patients during emergency calls and more recently through planned protocols. However, paramedics experiences and educational needs concerning preplanned end-of-life care at home remain largely unknown.AIM:
To describe experiences and educational needs of the paramedics included in the end-of-life care protocol.DESIGN:
A mixed method study with a questionnaire including open ended questions and numeric evaluations on a Likert scale. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS:
The questionnaire was delivered to and answered by all the 192 paramedics working in North Karelia fire and rescue department during the time of the data collection in 2017.RESULTS:
Over 80% of the paramedics agreed that the protocol helped them to take care of the patients and to improve the quality of end-of-life care. Visits to the patients were considered useful and the end-of-life care as a meaningful work by 76.5% and 62.5% of the paramedics, respectively. The paramedics expressed challenges in psychosocial aspects, communication, symptom management, and their role in end-of-life care. Encountering and communication with the families as well as managing the most common symptoms were emphasized as educational needs. Using a patient controlled analgesia device emerged as an example of practical educational aspect.CONCLUSIONS:
Paramedics considered end-of-life care at home meaningful but called for more competency in supporting and encountering the families and in symptom management. Our results can be utilized when developing end-of-life care protocols and education for the paramedics. Patients' and families' views on the paramedics' participation in end-of-life care should be evaluated in the future.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Assistência Terminal
/
Cuidados Paliativos na Terminalidade da Vida
Tipo de estudo:
Guideline
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article