Dying in palliative care units and in hospital: a comparison of the quality of life of terminal cancer patients.

Full Abstract

A comparison of the quality of life of terminal cancer patients in two palliative care units with that of those in a general hospital is reported here. Quality of life was considered as a multidimensional concept. It was assessed for the 182 patients by applying content analysis scales to transcripts of their responses to part of a standardized interview. A personal construct model of dying provided the specific hypotheses about differences in quality of life. Patients in specialized palliative care units were, as predicted, found to differ from those dying in hospital, showing less indirectly expressed anger but more positive feelings. They also reported more anxiety about death but less anxiety about isolation and general anxiety, and fewer influential and nonspecified shared relationships. Against prediction, the patients in the two specialized units were also found to differ from each other, those in the smaller unit showing more directly expressed anger and helplessness than those in the larger unit.

Author information

Author/s: Viney, L L (LL); Walker, B M (BM); Robertson, T (T); Lilley, B (B); Ewan, C (C);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of consulting and clinical psychology (J Consult Clin Psychol), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1994-Feb; vol 62 (issue 1) : pp 157-64

Dates: Created 1994/08/16; Completed 1994/08/16; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 7518478, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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