Connecting the dots between caregiver expectations and perceptions during the hospice care continuum: Lessons for interdisciplinary teams

ABSTRACT

This research study explores hospice caregivers’ perceptions of service quality during end-of-life care. More strictly, this study measures how service dimensions of the SERVQUAL Analysis, (1) reliability, (2) assurance, (3) empathy, and (4) responsiveness, impacts caregiver satisfaction. Face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with 26 informal caregivers to determine their perceptions of quality produced while an interdisciplinary team cared for their family members. The research indicated that while reliability was the dominant dimension, peripheral dimensions (i.e. assurance, empathy, and responsiveness) integrated humanistic constituencies throughout the hospice continuum. This led to an improved quality of life (emotionally, socially, and spiritually), a positive disconfirmation of expectations (service expectations were met or exceeded), and positive caregiver satisfaction. A discussion of the results and conclusions will provide robust insight into the depth of the qualitative findings.

KEYWORDS:

• Hospice care
• informal caregivers
• interdisciplinary teams
• palliative care
• service quality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Brian L. Matthews is an Assistant Professor of Management at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, USA with research interests that include ethnography of organizations, leadership, leader-member exchange, corporate culture, and organizational behavior.

Jamie Daigle is an Instructor of Supply Chain Management at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, USA with research interests that include statistical quantifications, corporate culture, human capital, and ethnography of organizations.