Study Data from University of Manitoba Provide New Insights into Palliative and Supportive Care (Compassion in Health Care: An Empirical Model)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Pain & Central Nervous System Week -- Fresh data on Palliative and Supportive Care are presented in a new report. According to news reporting out of Winnipeg, Canada, by NewsRx editors, research stated, "Compassion is frequently referenced as a hallmark of quality care by patients, health care providers, health care administrators, and policy makers. Despite its putative centrality, including its institution in recent health care reform, an empirical understanding based on the perspectives of patients, the recipients of compassion, is lackingdmaking compassion one of the most referenced yet poorly understood elements of quality care."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Manitoba, "The objective of this study was to investigate palliative cancer patients' understanding and experiences of compassion to provide a critical perspective on the nature and importance of compassion. This grounded theory study used semi- structured interviews to investigate how patients understand and experience compassion in clinical care. Using convenience and theoretical sampling, 53 advanced cancer inpatients were recruited over a seven- month period from a specialized palliative care unit and hospital- wide palliative care service within a Canadian urban setting. Data were analyzed by four members of the research team through the three stages of Straussian grounded theory. Qualitative analysis yielded seven categories, each containing distinct themes and subthemes. Together, they constitute components of the compassion modeldthe first empirically based clinical model of compassion. The model defines compassion as a virtuous response that seeks to address the suffering and needs of a person through relational understanding and action."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "The components of the compassion model provide insight into how patients understand and experience compassion, providing the necessary empirical foundation to develop future research, measures, training, and clinical care based on this vital feature of quality care."

For more information on this research see: Compassion in Health Care: An Empirical Model. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2016;51(2):193-203. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management can be contacted at: Elsevier Science Inc, 360 Park Ave South, New York, NY 10010-1710, USA. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Pain and Symptom Management - www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-pain-and-symptom-management/)

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting S. Sinclair, University of Manitoba, Dept. of Psychiat, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada. Additional authors for this research include S. McClement, S. Raffin-Bouchal, T.F. Hack, N.A. Hagen, S. McConnell and H.M. Chochinov (see also Palliative and Supportive Care).

Keywords for this news article include: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, North and Central America, Palliative and Supportive Care, University of Manitoba.

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