The purpose of this study was to determine those nursing behaviorsperceived as most helpful and least helpful by primary caregivers and by hospice nurses in a home-care hospice setting. A Q-sort of 60 nursing behaviors rankedfrom most to least helpful was completed by 20 caregivers, during the bereavement period and by five hospice nurses, who were currently employed by the hospice. These nursing behaviors were categorized as: • Nursing behaviors related to the patient's physical needs; • Nursing behaviors related to the patient's psychosocial needs; and • Nursing behaviors related to the psychosocial needs of the caregivers.
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