Towards a Crisis Management Playbook: Hospice and Palliative Team Members' Views Amid COVID-19

The critical role of hospice and palliative care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is well recognized, but there is limited evidence to guide healthcare leadership through future crises.

Our goal was to support future organizational resilience by exploring hospice and palliative team members' perspectives on crisis leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (NYC).

This qualitative descriptive study used individual, semi-structured interviews of purposively sampled interdisciplinary team members. Enrollment sites were two large NYC metro hospice care organizations and one outpatient palliative care practice. We asked participants to complete a demographic form and a 45-60 minute interview. We used descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively, for data analysis. We triangulated the data by presenting preliminary study findings to a group of clinicians (n=21) from one of the referring organizations.

Participants (n=30) were professionally diverse (e.g., nurses, physicians, social workers, chaplains, administrators), experienced (mean=17 years; 10 years in hospice), and highly educated (83% ≥ master's degree). About half (n=15) self-identified as white, non-Hispanic, and nearly half (n=13) self-identified as being from a racial/ethnic minoritized group. Two (n=2) did not wish to self-identify. We identified four themes that reflected challenges and adaptive responses to providing care during a crisis: Stay Open and Stay Safe; Act Flexibly; Lead Adaptively; and Create a Culture of Solidarity.

While additional work is indicated, findings offer direction for a crisis management playbook to guide leadership in hospice, palliative care, and other healthcare settings in future crises.