Abstract:

Objective To investigate the health resources and service situation in hospice care institutions in Shanghai. Methods Two registered hospice care institutions (Geriatric Hospital of Pudong New District and Linfen Road Community Health Service Center of Zhabei District) and one social-funded hospice care institution (Hospice Care Center of Xinhua Hospital) in Shanghai were selected, structured questionnaire and expert consultation were employed for survey, which mainly concerned with equipment, staff, service utilization and management of the institutions, and recognition and suggestions of different people were collected. Results There were 48 appropriative sickbeds in two registered hospice care institutions, and the other one only provided door-to-door outreach clinic services instead of setting up sickbeds. Thirty doctors were engaged in hospice care service, accounting for 3.42% of total doctors, and there were 40 registered nurses, accounting for 2.97% of total nurses. Terminal cancer patients (n=645) accounted for 34.4% of total discharged patients, the average duration of hospital stay was 52.33 d, the average medical cost during hospital stay was 4 620.32 yuan per patient, and the average daily medical cost was 108.87 yuan per patient. Psychological nursing was conducted in all the three institutions, and volunteers were recruited, though the volunteer service was less consistent. Conclusion The hospice care service in Shanghai has not yet formed a systemic network and mode. Along with strengthening the construction of hospice service and personnel training, the notion of hospice care service should be enhanced, which may help to establish the legal support for hospice care service as soon as possible.

Key words: terminal care, health resources, service situation