Hope
KEYPOINTS
- It is important to identify and understand the hopes of patients and family/caregivers
- Hope is about possibility and is a common coping mechanism
- Hope builds strength, and is critical to the psychosocial well-being of patients and family/caregivers
- Feelings of hope and hopelessness may occur at the same time
- People’s hopes may change throughout the course of their illness
- Patients and family/caregivers may be hoping for different things and at different points throughout the illness continuum
- Health care professionals have influence on the hopes of patients and family/caregivers
- To foster hope, it is important to set goals and encourage patients and family/caregivers to participate in decision making
CONSIDERATIONS
What might patients and family/caregivers hope for?
- For a cure
- For control and management of pain and symptoms associated with the disease
- For continued quality of life as defined by the individual
- For continued connections to important social relationships
- For resolving interpersonal conflicts or issues
- That they are not a burden on family/caregivers
- That the experience of dying will not be painful
- That family/caregivers will be okay after they die
- For spiritual connection
STRATEGIES
- People’s hopes may change over time and circumstance. Hopes expressed by patients and family/caregivers may be very different than that of the health care team
- It is important to find balance between being honest and providing hope
- Communication and on-going assessment throughout the care continuum is important for understanding and supporting people’s hopes
Questions to facilitate investigation of hope
- “Is hope important to you? What do you hope for at this time? In the future?”
- “How have these hopes changed for you over the course of your illness?”
- “Tell me about what gives you hope during this time? How do you maintain hope?”
- “How can I support you in your hopes at this time?”
SOURCES/REFERENCES
- Cairns M, Thompson M, Wainwright W. Transitions in dying and bereavement: a psychosocial guide for hospice and palliative Care. Victoria (BC): Victoria Hospice Society; 2003.
- Fanslow-Brunjes C, Schneider PE, Kimmel LH. Hope. Offering comfort and support for dying patients. Nursing 2007;27(3):54-57.
- Kuebler K, Davis M, Moore C. Palliative practices: an interdisciplinary approach. Missouri: Elsevier Mosby; 2005.
- Storey P, Knight CF. UNIPAC Two: Alleviating psychological and spiritual pain in the terminally ill. Gainesville (FL): American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine; 1997.
page revision: 2, last edited: 15 Jun 2009 17:23