Rozvoj hospicové péče a její bariéry

This monograph, compiled by workers at the Faculty of Social Works and the Faculty of Arts at Charles University as part of the "The Social Aspects of the Ageing of the Population" research project, which was included in the larger research project PRVOUK at Charles University, summarizes the results of the research on the support of management of palliative care by governmental and public institutions. It primarily focuses on public support for hospice care. Interviews with directors of most of the existing hospices in the Czech Republic and group interviews (using the focus group method) with employees of selected hospices lead the scholars to the conclusion that hospice care does not have sufficient support from public institutions and the public in general. Palliative care provided by hospices, however, is generally considered to be of higher quality than care in hospitals and similar institutions. This higher quality is associated particularly with social and spiritual dimensions of the hospice care which makes dying more dignified. These findings indicate that hospices should receive more support from state and public administration.