Comparison of paliative care by clients in hospice establishment and oncology department

Comparison of palliative care for patients in a hospice and at an oncology ward This thesis was focused on the various aspects of palliative care for oncological patients. Palliative care and its principles have been defined and it seems crucial to apply these principles not only in hospices but also at hospital wards where there are patients indicated for palliative care. The objective of this thesis was to find out whether the care provided to hospice clients and to dying patients at hospital oncological wards corresponds to the methods and procedures defined for palliative care and to find out whether there are any significant differences between the nursing care provided to the dying in a hospice and the dying at an oncology hospital ward. Four survey questions were formulated and the question dealt with maintaining palliative care standards, differences in providing palliative nursing care for the dying at the individual institutions, whether the dying clients{\crq} needs are answered in a holistic and humane way, and the nurses{\crq} approach to the dying at the individual institutions. The carried out research is a qualitative one. The research part {--} data collection {--} was carried out in the form of uncontrolled interviews with selected members of nursing teams in a hospice and at an oncology ward. Observations and case reports were used in case of several patients in at the individual institutions. The research was carried out in St Stephen Hospice in Litoměřice and at the oncology ward of an undisclosed health care institution by which information was provided in exchange for absolute anonymity. The research part resulted in the finding that the palliative care provided in the hospice corresponds to the methods and procedures defined for palliative care. There are efforts at the oncology ward to provide as perfect care for their dying patients as possible but this care does not correspond to the methods and procedures defined for palliative care. There are problems in providing palliative care especially in inadequate spatial conditions, equipment, shortages, high workloads, and strictly specialized focus of the personnel and these clients need very individual care that cannot be frequently provided under everyday operating conditions at a standard ward that concentrates primarily on curative care. The results of this thesis will be provided to those who may be interested in the various aspects of palliative care