High-quality patient-centered palliative care: interprofessional team members’ perceptions of social workers’ roles and contribution

Figures & data

Figure 1. Patient- centered care model. *Source: Figure 1.2. “The patient-contered clinical method: four interactive components.” Pg.8. Patient-Centered Medicine: Transforming the Clinical Method (3rd ed.). Stewart, M., Brown, J.B., Weston, W.W., Mc Whinney, I.R., McWilliam, C.L., & Freeman, T.R. © 2014 by Imprint. Reproduced by permission of Tayor & Francis Group.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of interdisciplinary team members.

Baseline Characteristic	n	%
Professional discipline
Physician/PA	16	66%
Nurse Practitioner/Nurse	6	25%
Chaplain	2	8%
Gender
Female	14	58%
Male	10	42%
Race
White	17	70%
Latinx	2	8%
Asian/Southeast Asian	5	20%
Years in Palliative Care
1–4 years	9	37%
5–10 years	9	37%
11 + years	6	25%
Hospital Setting
Community Hospital	4	16%
Urban Teaching Hospital	20	83%
Geographic Area
New England	6	25%
Midwest	6	25%
Southeast	9	37%
West Coast	3	12%

Note: N = 24.

Table 2. Six emergent themes of psw roles and contributions to the IPPC team’s delivery of Patient-Centered Care Using the PCCM Framework.

Theme	PCCM Core Component
Theme 1: Assessing and promoting care that centers the patient’s experience (particularly their experience of the illness) and is sensitive to psychosocial needs of the patient/family.	Component 1: Exploring Health, Disease, and Illness Experience Component 2: Understanding the Whole Person
Theme 2: Providing clinical expertise and support to patients with complex psychosocial needs (i.e., anxiety, depression, trauma histories).	Component 2: Understanding the Whole Person
Theme 3: Creating time, space, and an environment to initiate, process, and revisit difficult and emotionally laden clinical and medical conversations with the patient/family.	Component 3: Finding Common Ground
Theme 4: Modulating the pace and intensity of emotionally laden medical conversations with patient/family.	Component 3: Finding Common Ground
Theme 5: Providing continuity and connection for the patient/family throughout and across admissions.	Component 4: Enhancing the patient and team relationship
Theme 6: Supporting the well-being of the IP team.	Component 4: Enhancing the patient and team relationship

PSW = Palliative Social Worker; IPPC = Interprofessional Palliative Care; PCCM= Patient Centered Care Model.