August 22, 2016

‘Hope Among Terminally Ill Patients in Singapore: An Exploratory Study’ published in Social Work in Health Care (2007), is authored by Dr Rosaleen Ow, Senior Lecturer at the Dept of Social Work, and Mr Ivan Woo Mun Hongan.

The paper explores conventionally neglected patients’ definition of hope, factors that cause changes in their hope and roles that the formal service providers can play to instill hope in patients. All the respondents who participated in this study were diagnosed with terminal cancer and were staying in Dover Park Hospice, a hospice in Singapore for the terminally ill. The results reveal that there is greater diversity in the definition of hope among patients in Singapore compared with the definition given by patients from the studies with a non-Asian sample. The study seems to suggest that spiritual and relational hopes, together with open and honest communication between patients and family members, are very important strengths for Singaporeans diagnosed with advanced illness.

Read the full article here.