Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T10:18:30.176Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hospice and palliative social workers' experiences with clients at risk of suicide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2016

Karla T. Washington ,
David L. Albright ,
Debra Parker Oliver ,
L. Ashley Gage ,
Alexandria Lewis  and
Megan J. Mooney
Karla T. Washington*
Affiliation:
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
David L. Albright
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Debra Parker Oliver
Affiliation:
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
L. Ashley Gage
Affiliation:
Department of Communication Disorders and Social Work, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO, USA
Alexandria Lewis
Affiliation:
School of Social Work, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
Megan J. Mooney
Affiliation:
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Karla T. Washington, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, MA306 Medical Sciences Building, Columbia, Missour 65212. E-mail: washingtonkar@health.missouri.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

We sought to determine the frequency with which hospice and palliative social workers encounter patients, family caregivers, and other clients at risk of suicide, and to discover the extent to which hospice and palliative social workers feel prepared to address issues related to suicide in their professional practice.

Method:

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of hospice and palliative social workers, recruiting a convenience sample of volunteer respondents through advertisements at professional conferences and listservs, and via social media accounts associated with national organizations, state hospice and palliative care associations, and individual healthcare professionals.

Results:

Most respondents reported having worked with patients, family caregivers, or other clients who had exhibited warning signs of suicide during the previous year. Fewer respondents indicated that they had worked with patients and family members who had attempted or died by suicide. While the majority of respondents believed they possessed sufficient knowledge and skills to intervene effectively with individuals at risk of suicide, they indicated that additional education on this topic would be valuable for their professional practice.

Significance of results:

These study results suggest that suicide-related competencies are important in the practice of hospice and palliative social work. Future education and training efforts should include skill development in addition to knowledge building.

Keywords

HospicePalliative careSocial workSuicide
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 14 , Issue 6 , December 2016 , pp. 664 - 671
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adelman, R.D., Tmanova, L.L., Delgado, D., et al. (2014). Caregiver burden: A clinical review. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 311(10), 1052–1060.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chentsova-Dutton, Y., Shucter, S., Hutchin, S., et al. (2000). The psychological and physical health of hospice caregivers. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 12(1), 19–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clodfelter, R.P. & Adashi, E.Y. (2016). The liberty to die: California enacts physician aid-in-dying law. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 315(3), 251–252.Google Scholar
Courtney, K., Demiris, G., Oliver, D.P., et al. (2005). Conversion of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index to an interview instrument. European Journal of Cancer Care, 14(5), 463–464.Google Scholar
Dennis, M.K., Washington, K.T. & Koenig, T.L. (2014). Ethical dilemmas faced by hospice social workers. Social Work in Health Care, 53(9), 950–968.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fairman, N. & Irwin, S.A. (2013). A retrospective case series of suicide attempts leading to hospice admission. Palliative & Supportive Care, 11(3), 273–276.Google Scholar
Fairman, N., Thomas, L.P., Whitmore, S., et al. (2014). What did I miss? A qualitative assessment of the impact of patient suicide on hospice clinical staff. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 17(7), 832–836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, B.N. & Freedenthal, S. (2006). Social work education in suicide intervention and prevention: An unmet need? Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 36(4), 467–480.Google Scholar
Ganzini, L., Harvath, T.A., Jackson, A., et al. (2002). Experiences of Oregon nurses and social workers with hospice patients who requested assistance with suicide. The New England Journal of Medicine, 347(8), 582–588.Google Scholar
Hotopf, M., Chidgey, J., Addington-Hall, J., et al. (2002). Depression in advanced disease: A systematic review. Part 1: Prevalence and case finding. Palliative Medicine, 16(2), 81–97.Google Scholar
Joe, S. & Neidermeier, D. (2008). Preventing suicide: A neglected social work agenda. The British Journal of Social Work, 38(3), 507–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R.L. & Williams, J.B. (2001). The PHQ–9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16, 606–613.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R.L. & Williams, J.B. (2003). The Patient Health Questionnaire–2: Validity of a two-item depression screener. Medical Care, 41(11), 1284–1292.Google Scholar
Matthieu, M.M. & Swensen, A.B. (2014). Suicide prevention training program for gatekeepers working in community hospice settings. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care. 10(1), 95–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, P.J. & Hedlund, S.C. (2005). “We just happen to live here”: Two social workers share their stories about Oregon's Death with Dignity Law. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 1(1), 73–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Dwyer, S.T., Moyle, W., Zimmer-Gembeck, M., et al. (2015). Suicidal ideation in family carers of people with dementia. Aging & Mental Health, 17(6), 1–9.Google Scholar
Osteen, P.J., Jacobson, J.M. & Sharpe, T.L. (2014). Suicide prevention in social work education: How prepared are social work students. Journal of Social Work Education, 50, 349–364.Google Scholar
Oliver, D.P., Wittenberg-Lyles, E., Washington, K., et al. (2009). Social work role in pain management with hospice caregivers: A national survey. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 5(1–2), 61–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oliver, D.P., Albright, D.L., Washington, K., et al. (2013). Hospice caregiver depression: The evidence surrounding the greatest pain of all. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 9(4), 256–271.Google Scholar
Rubin, A. & Babbie, E.R. (2014). Research methods for social work, 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.Google Scholar
Sue, V.M. & Ritter, L.A. (2012). Conducting online surveys, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar