Hospice Care - An Overview

Introduction:

Hospice care is special care rendered to individuals experiencing an advanced, life-limiting illness, such as in some people with advanced or metastatic cancer. Hospice care provides compassionate care for individuals in their final stage of incurable and fatal disease so they can comfortably live their last few days. In hospice care, special care is provided to treat the patient and their disease's symptoms rather than the actual sickness itself. To manage symptoms and ensure that a person's final days are lived with dignity and quality, a team of specialists provides care in collaboration with the family members of the terminally ill patient.

Hospice care is also a family-centered treatment approach that includes the terminally ill person and his family in making decisions. A person's physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual needs are met by hospice care. A doctor must certify that the patient has a terminal illness that is incurable and has a life expectancy of six months or less if the disease runs its expected natural course in order to assess the patient's eligibility for hospice treatment.

What Are the Components of Hospice Care?

• Palliative Care: The treatment approach in palliative care is centered on treating the symptoms and side effects of the medical condition rather than targeting the treatment of the incurable disease.

• Home Care: Hospice care is centered in the comfort of the person's home, where family members and the hospice care team support the patient in the advanced stage of his illness.

• Spiritual Care: Hospice care caters to the needs and religious beliefs of the person and is destined to meet the person's last wishes and special needs.

• Regular Update With Family: The hospice care team keeps the family members informed about the medical condition of the person and involves the family members in decision-making.

• Coordination of Care: The hospice team coordinates with the healthcare system and the family members of the terminally ill 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Respite Care: The responsibility of Hospice care also involves providing counseling, respite care, guidance, and emotional and practical support.

• Bereavement Care: The hospice care team works with surviving friends and family members to help them bear the loss and gather strength through the grieving process.

What Are the Differences Between Hospice Care and Palliative Care?

Although it is a part of hospice care, palliative care is different in the following ways:

• Palliative care is a service provided at any stage of a serious illness. In contrast, hospice care focuses on special care provided by the hospice team, which consists of family members, loved ones, an inpatient facility, trained volunteers, the doctor, nurse, social worker, health care system, and other community professionals, including pharmacists, clergy, and funeral directors.

• In hospice care, the person is offered care regarding managing symptoms and side effects when no active or curative treatment is given for the severe illness. On the contrary, palliative care is provided while the patient receives active treatment at any phase of a serious illness.

• A hospice care team, which coordinates most of the patient's care and interacts with the patient's medical care team, includes the patient's family, close friends, the inpatient facility, the doctor, the nurse, the social worker, the health care system, and other community workers. A patient's medical care team, which treats the illness but also consults with the healthcare system for medical oversight, is separate from the palliative care team.

What Is the Purpose of Hospice Care?

• Hospice care aims to enhance a patient's comfort by minimizing pain and side effects and attending to their medical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs.

• A terminally ill person living comfortably due to a short life expectancy is the motive of hospice care.

• Hospice care helps a terminally ill person live better and longer, thus increasing the quality of life.

• Hospice care supports family members in dealing with complicated grief and prepares them for their loved one's death.

Who Can Benefit From Hospice Care?

Hospice care is for terminally ill patients who have six months or less to live. Hospice care is provided for illnesses like:

• Advanced cancer.

• Complex heart disease.

• Dementia.

• End-stage kidney failure.

• Lung diseases such as stage 4 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Hospice care is best given shortly after a person is diagnosed and can be beneficial at any stage of their disease. Hospice care can assist patients in understanding their options for medical care in addition to enhancing quality of life and easing symptoms. Any elderly experiencing a great deal of general discomfort and incapacity in their later years of life may find the coordinated services provided by palliative care useful. Families of patients who received end-of-life care through a hospice programme are happier with it than those who did not. In addition, compared to individuals who do not receive hospice care, hospice recipients are more likely to have their pain managed and are less likely to undertake tests or receive unnecessary medications.

When Does a Person Need Hospice Care?

A terminally ill person would require hospice care :

• When the illness is advancing despite medical treatment.

• When all treatment options have already been tried and found ineffective.

• When opting for hospice care seems beneficial compared to the risk involved.

• When the healthcare provider determines the life expectancy to be less than six months.

Where Can Hospice Care Be Availed?

Terminally ill persons can receive hospice care at:

• Home.

• Assisted living facility.

• Nursing home.

• Hospital.

• Hospice facility centers.

What to Expect From Hospice Care?

• Medications to ease symptoms such as pain.

• Counseling provides courage and strength to cope with fear, anxiety, agony, grief, and loneliness.

• Supportive programs such as art and music therapy help the person distract from grieving thoughts and to indulge in therapeutic programs to heal the body.

• Emotional support for friends, family, and other loved ones.

• No specific treatment would be given to resolve the severe illness.

• Spiritual support is also designed to help a person through his final days due to being in the latter stages of an advanced, life-limiting illness.

Conclusion:

Hospice care's objective is to assist terminally ill patients with the maximum possible quality of life during their final stages rather than to treat the underlying illness. Hospice care prioritizes an individual's care, comfort, and quality of life of an individual who is terminally ill and is approaching the end of his life.