Hospice Social Work Preferences for the Delivery of Facebook Support Groups: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2023 Dec;40(12):1339-1348. doi: 10.1177/10499091231152442. Epub 2023 Jan 19.

Abstract

Dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions is best accomplished with input from stakeholders. This project used a Discrete Choice Experiment to determine the preferences of a nationwide sample of hospice social workers toward the most preferred way to scale the delivery of an online support group. While the majority of social workers preferred referring caregivers to online support groups facilitated outside their agency rather than to facilitate groups themselves, the results were not statistically significant. Social workers reported concerns with both options. Further work with stakeholders is needed to develop implementation strategies and determine the feasibility of both options.

Keywords: Facebook; caregiver burden; discrete choice experiment; hospice; mixed methods research; psychosocial; social workers.

MeSH terms

  • Caregivers
  • Hospice Care*
  • Hospices*
  • Humans
  • Self-Help Groups
  • Social Media*
  • Social Support
  • Social Work