Palliative care case conferences in long-term care: views of family members

摘要

Aims and objectives. This paper examines the use of structured Palliative Care Case Conferences in long-term care. The issues families bring to the Palliative Care Case Conference, their level of distress prior to the conference, the extent to which these issues are addressed by staff and family satisfaction with this process are described. Background. In most developed countries, up to 30% of older people die in long-term care. A palliative approach generally refers to the resident and family as the 'unit of care'. Interventions, which include family in palliative care, are required in this setting. Design. Descriptive and thematic results from the intervention arm of a pre-post, sequential mixed method study. Methods. Examination of documents of 32 resident/family dyads participating in a Palliative Care Case Conference, and interviews with the residents' family postintervention.