While hospice and palliative care is often associated at a societal level with suffering, many who have experienced hospice care associate it with happiness. While there are some studies describing the effects of various interventions on happiness, few studies have explored the phenomenon of happiness in the context of palliative care. Olsman and Versteeg (2024) conducted a research study to explore happiness in hospice care. The case study identified three themes: happiness of patients, happiness of hospice staff and shared happiness. Specifically, patients with a life-threatening disease may experience a growing receptivity for the ‘little’ things and moments in life, which has implications for the services and experiences offered to those receiving hospice care. Read more…
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