Transmural Collaboration in Palliative Care: Perspectives of Nurses and Physicians

Most studies described in this thesis were part of a consortium-inspired research program ‘Transmural collaboration in palliative care’ in the southwest region of the Netherlands. This program was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) (grant number 844001104). The first aim was to gain insight into the perspectives and experiences of nurses and physicians working in different care settings on transmural collaboration in palliative care and into their underlying attitudes towards transmural collaboration. We found that most healthcare professionals attach much importance to transmural collaboration and continuity of palliative care for patients and their relatives. However, in clinical practice transmural collaboration and information exchange are often perceived as sub-optimal. Our findings indicate that healthcare professionals need more shared professionalization and professional attitudes towards transmural collaboration in palliative care. The second aim was to gain insight into how transmural collaboration in palliative care can be efficiently organized. We found that nurses and physicians need more guidance in defining shared views on goals, activities and working procedures and on organizational issues.

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