Making community palliative and end-of-life care sustainable; investigating the adaptability of rural Australian service provision

With the increased attention and demand on community-based palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care services comes the question of how to ensure their sustainability. Sustainability has three key attributes: acceptability, affordability and adaptability. Having established the acceptability and affordability of the community-based service, this paper focussed on adaptability, as the remaining issue affecting long-term sustainability. The aim of this study was to identify components of the palliative and EOL service which require adaptability to ensure long-term sustainability for the service. A mixed methods approach was used for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with family members. Semi-structured focus groups and interviews were held with health professionals. Patient data were included to describe frequency and nature of contacts. The results were analysed using descriptive analysis. The setting was a rural town in Victoria, Australia. Nine family members were interviewed, and 16 health professionals were interviewed or took part in a focus group. Patient data included 121 participants. Four themes were identified: the uniqueness of the patient, workforce issues, collaboration between services and symptom and pain management. All themes indicated that the palliative and EOL service faces challenges which may threaten the sustainability of the service and require adaptability. Families regard palliative and EOL care as special and valued, and appreciate the endeavour, care and support taken to assist their loved one to die with dignity regardless of the location and setting. With sufficient attention paid to the adaptability of the service, community palliative and EOL care service can become more sustainable, thus offering choice and dignity for people approaching the end of life.