Qualitative Analysis
Case: How can a Midwestern nonprofit hospice ensure that not just most, but every, family has as positive experience as possible of its services during this hardest of times?
From our analysis and reporting, we developed and conducted trainings to address organization-wide communication gaps.
We also designed and facilitated a full-day, cross-functional retreat for hospice staff that would bring them into direct contact with bereaved family members and their first-person perspectives. In this 360° retreat, staff members collaborated with family members to envision a patient- and family-focused, and increasingly culturally competent, future of care.
Getting down to work ...
How the engagement started
The conscientious director of a medium-sized hospice, aware of our work creating THE HUMAN JOURNEY Experience for family transition care, knew that, despite her staff’s best intentions, some of her hospice families fell through the cracks. Though losing a loved one is painful under any circumstance, any carelessness by a staff member at such a time is magnified in the memory and can make grieving harder. She knew that our interviews with surviving families could honestly uncover the lost opportunities for consideration and special gestures of care for family members facing the hardest time ever.
How we worked together ...
We started by conducting an array of depth interviews with the minority of family members who felt that mistakes or missed opportunities by the hospice had made losing their loved one even harder than it had to be or had created late regrets.
The hospice director knew who those families were. Her conscientiousness and courage in wanting to understand their experiences was the leading factor in the hospice’s ability to course correct in such a high-stakes situation.
We went deeply into family members’ experiences and learned what went awry and what could have gone right.
The interviews told us not only where the hospice had missed the mark but also the many things it was doing right.
What it led to ...
After synthesizing our findings for leadership, we brought bereaved family members, and their irreplaceable first-person perspectives, into direct contact with hospice staff at all levels, facilitating a full-day, cross-functional retreat. In this event, staff members collaborated with family members to lay out a patient- and family-focused, and increasingly culturally competent, future of care.
We further found organization-wide communication gaps, and developed conducted trainings to address them.
What this could mean for you
If you’re trying to put your finger on just why your organization’s services or products are not having the effect you intend, let’s talk! Contact us using the form below.
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