Personal care in the hospice inpatient setting. Version 1.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Participating in the personal care of a person with a life limiting illness within the hospice inpatient setting; the informal caregiver perspective.
IRAS ID
211695
Contact name
Stuart Milligan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of the West of Scotland
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
The proposed study will interview spouses and other close family members of hospice inpatients to ascertain their views, attitudes and preferences in respect of being permitted to participate in the personal care of their relative while he or she is in the hospice.
Although research in the hospice setting is increasing, many areas of hospice care remains under researched. Nurses toil between the need for research data and the possibility of causing distress. Nonetheless, the researcher has explored the potential benefits and risks to participants within this study and will not proceed without ethical approval to safeguard this participant group. The informal caregiver role is defined as a family member, significant other, friend or neighbour who delivers fundamental care on a voluntary basis. Published definitions of personal care are not adequate. Therefore, as part of normal work in the hospice, informal caregivers are asked what personal care meant to them. These points have been used to develop a flash card.
The research will take place in one hospice inpatient setting where adult informal caregivers of patients with any life limiting illness will undergo a semi structured interview of no more than one hour.
Four hours of study leave weekly will be allocated to the researcher. Financial expenditure for providing stationery, an electronic audio tape recorder, tea and coffee offered to participants and printing costs will be covered by the researcher’s employer. The researcher will transcribe the findings, therefore, no cost will be incurred. The researcher will disseminate the results of the study at a conference and through educational sessions with no cost incurred by the researcher’s employer but will be delivered by the researcher as an aspect of professional development. Additionally, disseminating the results on the hospice online research site will incur no further costs.REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
16/WS/0224
Date of REC Opinion
22 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion