Date of Award
1999
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Psychology
Keywords
Psychology, Personality.
Supervisor
Lafreniere, K.,
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Traditional medical institutions have recently come under scrutiny as questions are now being raised as to whether they are the ideal place to treat the terminally ill. With an emphasis on cure orientation, hospitals have paid little heed to the complex network of psychosocial issues displayed by the dying. Hospice care programs which stress a compassionate, humane, and patient-centred approach have become the care system of choice for many incurable individuals. The purpose of the present study was to construct a profile of an individual whose general attitudes and personality traits would predispose her/him to utilize hospice services if she/he became terminally ill. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that the concepts of death anxiety, life satisfaction, responsibility for one's own health and specific personality traits would be important factors separating those persons who would use hospice care from those persons who would not. Exploratory variables of gender, ethnicity and level of religiosity were also examined. Participants consisted of 155 university students who completed a series of standardized measures. A principal components analysis on the self-constructed Attitudes Toward Hospice Care Scale revealed three significant factors: Preference for Quality of Life, Attitudes Toward Hospice, and Desire for Home Care. Multiple regression analyses suggested that individuals who hold favourable attitudes toward the prospective use of hospice care tended to be women, conscientious and believe that others play a minimal role in the determination of their own health outcomes. Implications of the study's results and suggestions for future research were also discussed.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1999 .L58. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0604. Adviser: K. Lafreniere. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1999.
Recommended Citation
Little, Tracy A., "Prospective attitudes toward the use of hospice care in a university population." (1999). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3212.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/3212