Sources of Work Stress for Hospice Staff

Abstract

Hospice staff provide a wide range of services and perform many caregiving activities for terminally ill patients and their families. However, their work may produce stress and have a negative impact on their emotional well-being. This article describes a study of the major sources of stress in the work roles of hospice staff. The study discovered three major stress-producing areas-staff support issues, emotional concern for patients and their families, and management of the disease process. The lack of staff support proved to be the greatest overall producer of stress. This finding points to the need for hospice administrators to improve the working conditions of hospice staff and to incrcase communication with them.