RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Family Physician’s Perceived Role in Preventing and Guiding Hospital Admissions at the End of Life: A Focus Group Study
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 441
OP 446
DO 10.1370/afm.1666
VO 12
IS 5
A1 Reyniers, Thijs
A1 Houttekier, Dirk
A1 Pasman, H. Roeline
A1 Stichele, Robert Vander
A1 Cohen, Joachim
A1 Deliens, Luc
YR 2014
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/12/5/441.abstract
AB PURPOSE Family physicians play a pivotal role in providing end-of-life care and in enabling terminally ill patients to die in familiar surroundings. The purpose of this study was to explore the family physicians’ perceptions of their role and the difficulties they have in preventing and guiding hospital admissions at the end of life. METHODS Five focus groups were held with family physicians (N= 39) in Belgium. Discussions were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a constant comparative approach. RESULTS Five key roles in preventing and guiding hospital admissions at the end of life were identified: as a care planner, anticipating future scenarios; as an initiator of decisions in acute situations, mostly in an advisory manner; as a provider of end-of-life care, in which competency and attitude is considered important; as a provider of support, particularly by being available during acute situations; and as a decision maker, taking overall responsibility. CONCLUSIONS Family physicians face many different and complex roles and difficulties in preventing and guiding hospital admissions at the end of life. Enhancing the family physician’s role as a gatekeeper to hospital services, offering the physicians more end-of-life care training, and developing or expanding initiatives to support them could contribute to a lower proportion of hospital admissions at the end of life.