UNIverse - Public Research Portal
Project cover

Conditions and quality of community-based end-of-life care - the role of GPs

Research Project
 | 
01.05.2012
 - 30.04.2015

Caring for persons at the end of life (palliative care) is a great challenge for everyone involved. This project examines palliative care from the perspective of general practitioners (primary care physicians) and family members of patients who have died. The goal is improvement of the quality of care at the end of life. Background The majority of people die after a long illness not of cancer but of heart, lung or kidney diseases and chronic illnesses of the nervous system. General practitioners often play a central role in the care of persons at the end of life, as they have known the patients and their families for years. The physicians are expected to possess high competency in the area of palliative care. This goes far beyond treating symptoms of illness at the end of life. The tasks of palliative care include communicating appropriately in these situations, ensuring the patients and their families the necessary emotional support, aiding in decision-making and coordinating the different health services involved. Aim General practitioners and family members of deceased patients in all three language regions of Switzerland will be surveyed through interviews and questionnaires. The aim is to gather information mainly on the quality of care of persons at the end of life. Special attention will be paid to the education and continuing education of future general practitioners and the quality of care structures up to now. The results of the study will contribute towards the drafting of specific suggestions for improving palliative care of persons at the end of life. Significance This study aims to identify gaps in care and especially general practitioners' care of persons at the end of life and to draft suggestions for improvement. The study will contribute towards improving palliative care in Switzerland.

Publications

Otte, Ina, Jung, Corinna and Elger, Bernice (2012) ‘“Conzeptualizing Dying? Structures of End-of-Life Care in Switzerland”’. NTA5: NTA5.

Members (11)

MALE avatar

Klaus Bally

Principal Investigator
Profile Photo

Bernice Simone Elger

Co-Investigator
Profile Photo

Heike Gudat Keller

Co-Investigator
Profile Photo

Brigitte Liebig

Co-Investigator
MALE avatar

Peter Tschudi

Co-Investigator
FEMALE avatar

Elisabeth Zemp Stutz

Co-Investigator
Show more