The Transprofessional Model: Blending Intents in Terminal Care of AIDS

Abstract

SUMMARY Current terminal care services present dying patients and their families with a dichotomy in service delivery and the intent care between curative treatments and palliative treatments. This arbitrary dichotomy reduces patients' quality of life in many cases and robs patients and families of benefiting from the psychosocial aspects of treatment until the last few weeks of life. This article presents a blended model of care, the Transprofessional Model, in which patients receive both curative and palliative service throughout their care process. The blended intent model differs from traditional home care in that services are provided by a care coordination team composed of nurses and social workers; the traditional model of care is often case managed by a single, registered nurse. The combination of the multi-disciplinary approach to care coordination and training in both curative and palliative services in the Transprofessional Model demonstrates that this blended model of care produces a bio-psychosocial focus to terminal care as compared to a primary focus on curative services present in the traditional model of home care.