Explaining how and why social support groups in hospice day services benefit palliative care patients, for whom, and in what circumstances

Bradley, N, Dowrick, C and Lloyd-Williams, M ORCID: 0000-0002-9590-5288 (2023) Explaining how and why social support groups in hospice day services benefit palliative care patients, for whom, and in what circumstances. Palliative Care and Social Practice, 17. ISSN 2632-3524

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Abstract

Background:
Palliative care aims to provide holistic support for people with life-limiting illness, responding to psychological, social and spiritual needs, as well as to clinical and physical. In the United Kingdom, hospice day services (including day care, group interventions, group activities, and social events for palliative care outpatients) aim to provide opportunities for patients to gain social support, which is thought to improve their quality of life.

Objectives:
This research explored social support within hospice day services, to explain in detail how and why social support obtained within a hospice day service could be beneficial to palliative care patients.

Design:
Qualitative research using observations of hospice day services and interviews with service providers.

Methods:
Data collection involved nineteen interviews with hospice service providers (n = 19) and researcher observations of hospice day services. The findings detail how patient and hospice context interact to produce mechanisms that lead to outcomes beyond the hospice day service.

Results:
Practical, clinical and social aspects of the hospice day service are important for patients feeling welcome and safe in the setting. The opportunity to connect with other people and work towards personal goals can boost self-confidence for patients who have lost access to meaningful activity. New friendships between patients encourages reciprocal support and feelings of belonging. It is beneficial to have permission to speak freely about topics deemed inappropriate elsewhere, because honest communication is helpful in accepting and adapting to their circumstances.

Conclusion:
Hospice day services facilitate group settings for reciprocal social support. This research proposes an initial programme theory that can be further developed and tested. It explains how and why, in some contexts, social support increases personal and practical resources to cope with illness and death, leading to changes outside of the hospice (to mood, interpersonal interactions and behaviour) that could improve quality of life.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	emotional support; death acceptance; hospice day care; palliative care; realist evaluation; social support; supportive interventions; death acceptance; emotional support; hospice day care; palliative care; realist evaluation; social support; supportive interventions; 4203 Health Services and Systems; 4205 Nursing; 42 Health Sciences; Behavioral and Social Science; Clinical Research; Health Services; Social Determinants of Health; Pain Research; 7.2 End of life care; Generic health relevance; 3 Good Health and Well Being
Subjects:	R Medicine > RT Nursing
Divisions:	Nursing, Public and Allied Health
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Date of acceptance:	27 October 2023
Date of first compliant Open Access:	20 August 2026
Date Deposited:	20 Aug 2026 13:17
Last Modified:	20 Aug 2026 13:17
DOI or ID number:	10.1177/26323524231214549
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29163

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