The
years keep ending and beginning. I have been blogging through the last eight with Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog. Blogging is an interesting, time-consuming, and rewarding service-oriented
activity for me. I include news, practices, research, poems, stories, and interviews. Images and videos are used often. I view my blog as an
extension of my volunteer commitment to educate others about eldercare and improve
lives of older adults in general. Having opportunities to communicate with
people all over the world while gaining considerable knowledge myself
is a major bonus.
A fascinating personal aspect of blogging is predicting which
posts will be most popular. I’ve been surprised many times by the topics
readers embrace with enthusiasm. These are my top three posts, each having
thousands of page views over the past years: Impact of Death Rattle Sounds on
Hospice Workers, Hospice-Palliative Care Doctors and Burnout, and Cremation
Process and Storage of Cremains.
Health blogs and websites are persuasive vehicles that many
use to impact the thoughts and actions of others. Is one more persuasive than the other? Are personal health blogs more persuasive than
institutional health websites? In a study of HIV personal blogs in which people shared their
intimate thoughts and experiences with HIV, results determined that a one-time exposure to a personal HIV blog had greater
persuasive effects on its readers than an institutional HIV website providing
the same content. While the website of an official institution had higher
source credibility, blog readers had more positive attitudes and success toward
condom use than website readers. The ideal is probably a good combination of both
blogs and websites. Whichever you choose, be informed and prepared to educate
and assist others.
If you are interested in reading more blogs related
to terminal illness and end-of-life care, the Hospice and Palliative Care Community Blog Directory is located at the website of The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), the largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and
palliative care programs and professionals in the United States.
Frances
Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer
in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book
editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
