Abstract

Despite available and adequate hospice care resources, fewer terminally ill patients in Malaysia use hospice care services than one might reasonably expect. It is reported that only around 10% of patients who die of terminal illness in Malaysia, die in hospice care (Devaraj, 2003). The projected number of individuals that should receive palliative care in Malaysia is 17 to 27% (Connor & Sepulveda Bermedo, 2014). In order to study why hospice care is not accessed as expected, nurses and doctors in Penang and Sabah completed a survey measuring knowledge of current hospice practices, attitude toward caring for the dying, personal death anxiety and when they believe is the right time to discuss hospice care. No significant relationships were found between knowledge of hospice care, attitude towards caring for the dying and personal death anxiety and the decision of nurses and doctors to introduce the topic of hospice care with terminally ill or dying patients. There being a lack of consensus on the interpretation of “terminal illness” and “dying patient”, the right time to discuss hospice could not be determined. Along with the identification of the gap in the process of terminally ill patients receiving end-of-life- care, this study has identified how a more relevant method of research for the Malaysian setting may improve the time and quantity of hospice referral.

LLU Discipline

Nursing

Department

Nursing

School

School of Nursing

First Advisor

Pothier, Patricia

Second Advisor

Haviland, Mark

Third Advisor

Winslow, Betty W.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2015

Date (Title Page)

6-2015

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Hospice Care - Malaysia; Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing; Health Care Quality; Health Knowledge - Attitudes; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Psychology

Subject - Local

Terminally Ill Patients; Penang (Malaysia); Sabah (Malaysia); End-of-life Care; Hospice Referral

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

194

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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