Rural palliative care transitions from home to hospital: Carers' experiences

OBJECTIVE: To document carer perceptions of patients' transitions from community to hospital‐based palliative care in a rural setting. DESIGN: A qualitative study using an interview method at two time points. SETTING: Rural palliative care providers: Kyneton District Health Service and the Mace...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	The Australian journal of rural health Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 160 - 164
Main Authors:	Hatcher, Isabelle, Harms, Louise, Walker, Brigid, Stokes, Suzanne, Lowe, Alison, Foran, Kellie, Tarrant, Jacqui
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Australia Wiley 01-08-2014 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:	Adults Aged Cancer Caregivers carer Communication Decision analysis Female Health policy Home Care Services Hospice care Hospitalization Hospitals Hospitals, Rural Humans interviews Interviews as Topic Male Medical personnel Middle Aged model of rural service provision Neoplasms - therapy Nursing Palliative care Palliative Care - methods patient care Patient Transfer - methods Patients Perceptions Qualitative Research Rural communities Rural conditions Rural Health Services Semistructured interviews Service provision Victoria Victoria Macedon Australia carer model of rural service provision nursing communication palliative care
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Summary:	OBJECTIVE: To document carer perceptions of patients' transitions from community to hospital‐based palliative care in a rural setting. DESIGN: A qualitative study using an interview method at two time points. SETTING: Rural palliative care providers: Kyneton District Health Service and the Macedon Ranges Palliative Care Service, Victoria PARTICIPANTS: Six adult caregivers of six palliative care patients who had cancer were interviewed, three of whom were male and three female. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Semistructured interviews were conducted exploring the caregivers' decisions to transition to hospital‐based care and their perceptions of the transition to hospital and the hospital‐based care these patients received. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed that carers made the decision for the patient in their care to transfer from home to hospital care. Carers experienced the transition to hospital care positively, particularly in relation to the communication of the patient's care needs. While communication issues arose while in hospital, they were not related to the transitional aspects of the palliative care service. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this small, exploratory study suggest that these carers benefited from the new model of rural palliative care service provision. A large‐scale, mixed‐method study would enable more generalisable findings to be established.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajr.12105 istex:3F1E5A2A2893ED6422AD77473FE31CCD8DE2A869 ark:/67375/WNG-HM782J3M-3 ArticleID:AJR12105 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	1038-5282 1440-1584
DOI:	10.1111/ajr.12105