Living with the dying: use of the technique of participant observation.
- 18 December 1976
- journal article
- Vol. 115 (12) , 1211-5
Abstract
Through participant observation, questions concerning optimal care of dying patients and needs of their families were answered. A general surgical ward and a palliative care unit were the sites of observation. The observations support the belief that a palliative care unit, specifically designed to meet the known needs of dying patients and their families, is preferable to a general surgical ward. The main findings, of less concern in the palliative care unit than on the surgical ward, were the following: the importance of patient-to-patient support; the discomfort of sick-role behaviour; the impersonal and sometimes intimidating nature of patient care; the limitation of the patient's need (as a person) to give as well as to receive; and the value of families, student nurses and volunteers in total care. These findings emphasize the importance of personal interest in relieving the distress suffered by many terminally ill patients.This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- The problem of caring for the dying in a general hospital; the palliative care unit as a possible solution.1976
- On Being Sane in Insane PlacesScience, 1973
- Psychotherapy of the dying patient.BMJ, 1970
- Psychotherapy and the Patient with a Limited Life Span†Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 1961
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