‘So being here is. . . I feel like I’m being a social worker again, at the hospice’: Using interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore social workers’ experiences of hospice work

Background: Social workers have a significant role in hospices working with clients who are facing death but there is limited detailed understanding of the emotional impact of this work on social workers. Research has highlighted that those involved in hospice work find the work both a struggle (e.g. because of heightened emotions) and rewarding (noting that end-of-life care can feel like a privilege).

Aim: To explore UK hospice social workers’ emotional experiences of work and how this influences their practice.

Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with hospice social workers. Interviews were transcribed and transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Setting/participants: Eight social workers from different hospices in the UK.

Results: Five overlapping superordinate themes emerged: making a difference to clients and families (‘the difference made’), the emotional impact of working in hospices (‘dealing with people’s emotions, and death, and dying, it’s serious stuff’), the relational context of this type of work (‘awareness of affinity to connect’), the ways in which coping is facilitated in hospices (‘seen it coming’) and a foundation theme, connection and disconnection to values (‘(dis)connection to values’).

Conclusions: The results offer an exploration of social workers’ experiences of their work in hospices; how adept they were at coping and how they prepared for and made sense of the often emotionally-laden experiences encountered. Their experience of the rewards and meaning derived from their work offers important findings for clinical practice. Further research is suggested to explore a multitude of healthcare professionals’ perspectives across country settings using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.