Despite available and adequate hospice care resources, fewer terminally ill patients in Malaysia use hospice care services than one might reasonably expect. It is reported that only around 10% of patients who die of terminal illness in Malaysia, die in hospice care (Devaraj, 2003). The projected number of individuals that should receive palliative care in Malaysia is 17 to 27% (Connor & Sepulveda Bermedo, 2014). In order to study why hospice care is not accessed as expected, nurses and doctors in Penang and Sabah completed a survey measuring knowledge of current hospice practices, attitude toward caring for the dying, personal death anxiety and when they believe is the right time to discuss hospice care. No significant relationships were found between knowledge of hospice care, attitude towards caring for the dying and personal death anxiety and the decision of nurses and doctors to introduce the topic of hospice care with terminally ill or dying patients. There being a lack of consensus on the interpretation of “terminal illness” and “dying patient”, the right time to discuss hospice could not be determined. Along with the identification of the gap in the process of terminally ill patients receiving end-of-life- care, this study has identified how a more relevant method of research for the Malaysian setting may improve the time and quantity of hospice referral.
","abstract_html":"<p>Despite available and adequate hospice care resources, fewer terminally ill patients in Malaysia use hospice care services than one might reasonably expect. It is reported that only around 10% of patients who die of terminal illness in Malaysia, die in hospice care (Devaraj, 2003). The projected number of individuals that should receive palliative care in Malaysia is 17 to 27% (Connor & Sepulveda Bermedo, 2014). In order to study why hospice care is not accessed as expected, nurses and doctors in Penang and Sabah completed a survey measuring knowledge of current hospice practices, attitude toward caring for the dying, personal death anxiety and when they believe is the right time to discuss hospice care. No significant relationships were found between knowledge of hospice care, attitude towards caring for the dying and personal death anxiety and the decision of nurses and doctors to introduce the topic of hospice care with terminally ill or dying patients. There being a lack of consensus on the interpretation of “terminal illness” and “dying patient”, the right time to discuss hospice could not be determined. Along with the identification of the gap in the process of terminally ill patients receiving end-of-life- care, this study has identified how a more relevant method of research for the Malaysian setting may improve the time and quantity of hospice referral.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Solomon, Shanthi Ellen"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Nursing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Pothier, Patricia","Haviland, Mark","Winslow, Betty W."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:27Z","subjects":["Critical Care Nursing","Nursing","Palliative Care","Hospice Care - Malaysia; Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing; Health Care Quality; Health Knowledge - Attitudes; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Psychology","Terminally Ill Patients; Penang (Malaysia); Sabah (Malaysia); End-of-life Care; Hospice Referral"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/270","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Pothier, Patricia","Haviland, Mark","Winslow, Betty W."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Solomon, Shanthi Ellen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nursing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Critical Care Nursing","Nursing","Palliative Care","Hospice Care - Malaysia; Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing; Health Care Quality; Health Knowledge - Attitudes; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Psychology","Terminally Ill Patients; Penang (Malaysia); Sabah (Malaysia); End-of-life Care; Hospice Referral"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/270"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Despite available and adequate hospice care resources, fewer terminally ill patients in Malaysia use hospice care services than one might reasonably expect. It is reported that only around 10% of patients who die of terminal illness in Malaysia, die in hospice care (Devaraj, 2003). The projected number of individuals that should receive palliative care in Malaysia is 17 to 27% (Connor & Sepulveda Bermedo, 2014). In order to study why hospice care is not accessed as expected, nurses and doctors in Penang and Sabah completed a survey measuring knowledge of current hospice practices, attitude toward caring for the dying, personal death anxiety and when they believe is the right time to discuss hospice care. No significant relationships were found between knowledge of hospice care, attitude towards caring for the dying and personal death anxiety and the decision of nurses and doctors to introduce the topic of hospice care with terminally ill or dying patients. There being a lack of consensus on the interpretation of “terminal illness” and “dying patient”, the right time to discuss hospice could not be determined. Along with the identification of the gap in the process of terminally ill patients receiving end-of-life- care, this study has identified how a more relevant method of research for the Malaysian setting may improve the time and quantity of hospice referral.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Hospice Care in Malaysia: Knowledge, Attitude and Time of Discussion"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Pothier, Patricia","Haviland, Mark","Winslow, Betty W."],"dc:creator":["Solomon, Shanthi Ellen"],"dc:description.abstract":["Despite available and adequate hospice care resources, fewer terminally ill patients in Malaysia use hospice care services than one might reasonably expect. It is reported that only around 10% of patients who die of terminal illness in Malaysia, die in hospice care (Devaraj, 2003). The projected number of individuals that should receive palliative care in Malaysia is 17 to 27% (Connor & Sepulveda Bermedo, 2014). In order to study why hospice care is not accessed as expected, nurses and doctors in Penang and Sabah completed a survey measuring knowledge of current hospice practices, attitude toward caring for the dying, personal death anxiety and when they believe is the right time to discuss hospice care. No significant relationships were found between knowledge of hospice care, attitude towards caring for the dying and personal death anxiety and the decision of nurses and doctors to introduce the topic of hospice care with terminally ill or dying patients. There being a lack of consensus on the interpretation of “terminal illness” and “dying patient”, the right time to discuss hospice could not be determined. Along with the identification of the gap in the process of terminally ill patients receiving end-of-life- care, this study has identified how a more relevant method of research for the Malaysian setting may improve the time and quantity of hospice referral.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/270"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:rights":["This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights."],"dc:subject":["Critical Care Nursing","Nursing","Palliative Care","Hospice Care - Malaysia; Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing; Health Care Quality; Health Knowledge - Attitudes; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Psychology","Terminally Ill Patients; Penang (Malaysia); Sabah (Malaysia); End-of-life Care; Hospice Referral"],"dc:title":["Hospice Care in Malaysia: Knowledge, Attitude and Time of Discussion"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nursing"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:52:27Z"}