Act of Consoling Helps Those Who Console: A Multicenter Observational Survey Study in Hospice Services

摘要

Background: The contemporary scientific literature documents a lack of attention toward the act of consoling put into practice by health care professionals (HCPs) in hospice services.Objective: To describe the act of consoling and its meaning for hospice-employed HCPs.Design: A multicenter observational survey study was performed through a paper-based questionnaire.Subjects: The study was sent to the directors of 10 hospices in Northern Italy and distributed to 232 HCPs.Results: A total of 218 HCPs responded (94%). The results showed that most HCPs consider the practice of consoling to be essential to their profession, but they also underscored the extreme complexity of the process.Conclusion: The act of consoling is not simply a professional duty defined in contractual clauses. Rather, it is a set of specific communicative practices and skills required of HCPs.