Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Committee Chair

Anna Hamrick

Abstract

As hospice programs gain recognition, hospice referrals are gaining momentum. Yet for multiple reasons hospice referrals are challenging amongst rural healthcare providers (HCPs). For rural healthcare providers, lack of knowledge about hospice services and care contributes to a decrease in hospice referrals. The purpose of this capstone project was to develop an intervention to improve rural health care providers' behavioral intention to make hospice referral. The study sought to determine if an educational intervention would improve behavioral intentions to make a hospice referral resulting in increased hospice referral rates. Outcome data was based on utilizing a pretest/posttest survey design. An educational intervention was implemented to enhance rural HCPs' behavioral intentions to make a hospice referral. The findings of the project indicated a significant impact on the knowledge-base of the HCPs. After one month, this resulted in increased behavioral intentions. Keywords: hospice, palliative, hospice referrals, advanced practitioners, health care providers, behavioral intention

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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