‘Normalizing’ Trauma-Informed Hospice Care Delivery
‘Normalizing’ Trauma-Informed Hospice Care Delivery
Hospice News; by Holly Vossel; 7/2/24
Stakeholders and advocacy organizations recently collaborated to develop stronger trauma-informed care delivery guidelines that help hospices better address violence, abuse and neglect among serious and terminally ill populations. The global anti-violence advocacy organization NO MORE in concert with the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) recently unveiled a resource guide to help strengthen hospice providers’ understanding of traumatic experiences and their impact on end-of-life outcomes. “Understanding that elder abuse and domestic violence are two really distinct and prevalent issues in the older population has really become front and center,” NPHI President Carole Fisher told Hospice News. “These victims often suffer in silence, and we need to pay better attention to their issues.” The guide, dubbed Breaking the Silence: Addressing Domestic Violence, Elder Abuse and Neglect, is one of many steps needed in developing more supportive structures for patients and their families, according to Fisher. A main aim is to illuminate the prevalence of abuse and trauma and to arm hospice providers with tools to shape more innovative trauma-informed care models, she said.
Editor's Note: NPHI is a sponsor. This significant Guide pairs with readers' "Top Read" articles we posted recently:
- "Retraumatization when an adult child cares for the parent who harmed them through serious illness or the end of life"; Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. We posted this in our Saturday "Research" edition 5/11/24 and Sunday's "Top Read" stories for the week on 5/19/24. We discussed this crucial trauma topic in TCN's monthly podcast that summarizes the month's top news stories.
- "Psychological trauma can worsen symptom burden at end-of-life"; Hospice News. We posted on 5/17/24 and again in Sunday's "Top Read" stories on 5/26/24.