Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisions

Numerous studies have confirmed the presence of financial difficulties for families when a loved one is at the end of life. However, few studies examine the discussions family members have with care workers about financial issues during end of life. The research presented here examines the experienc...

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Main Author: Paula Hopeck
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2021-02-01
Series:Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/9102
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author Paula Hopeck
author_facet Paula Hopeck
author_sort Paula Hopeck
collection DOAJ
description Numerous studies have confirmed the presence of financial difficulties for families when a loved one is at the end of life. However, few studies examine the discussions family members have with care workers about financial issues during end of life. The research presented here examines the experiences that care workers have with family members expressing financial concerns and how care workers respond. I conducted in-depth interviews with fifty-eight care workers, defined in this study as clergy, patient advocates, and nurses who had experiences talking with families about financial issues. Transcripts of the interviews served as the data set. I transcribed, coded and analyzed the data. Families talk about financial issues openly, although sometimes guiltily. Some families express difficulties implicitly, and in these cases, care workers often had to piece together information based on other statements and behaviors of the family. Care workers suggest solutions at the interpersonal, organizational, inter-organizational, social, and national levels. Findings also support prior research that it is important for families to have end-of-life discussions before death is imminent so that families may plan accordingly, and offer insights about care workers and their role in making financial discussions easier for families.
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spelling doaj-art-6592ad95d77c4100898d9159cd2819212025-08-20T03:33:57ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare2532-20442021-02-014310.4081/qrmh.2020.9102Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisionsPaula Hopeck0Department of Communication Studies, Bloomsburg University of PennsylvaniaNumerous studies have confirmed the presence of financial difficulties for families when a loved one is at the end of life. However, few studies examine the discussions family members have with care workers about financial issues during end of life. The research presented here examines the experiences that care workers have with family members expressing financial concerns and how care workers respond. I conducted in-depth interviews with fifty-eight care workers, defined in this study as clergy, patient advocates, and nurses who had experiences talking with families about financial issues. Transcripts of the interviews served as the data set. I transcribed, coded and analyzed the data. Families talk about financial issues openly, although sometimes guiltily. Some families express difficulties implicitly, and in these cases, care workers often had to piece together information based on other statements and behaviors of the family. Care workers suggest solutions at the interpersonal, organizational, inter-organizational, social, and national levels. Findings also support prior research that it is important for families to have end-of-life discussions before death is imminent so that families may plan accordingly, and offer insights about care workers and their role in making financial discussions easier for families.https://pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/9102Financesend of lifethematic analysis
spellingShingle Paula Hopeck
Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisions
Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare
Finances
end of life
thematic analysis
title Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisions
title_full Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisions
title_fullStr Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisions
title_full_unstemmed Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisions
title_short Care workers’ experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end-of-life decisions
title_sort care workers experiences discussing financial issues with families facing end of life decisions
topic Finances
end of life
thematic analysis
url https://pagepressjournals.org/index.php/qrmh/article/view/9102
work_keys_str_mv AT paulahopeck careworkersexperiencesdiscussingfinancialissueswithfamiliesfacingendoflifedecisions