• Rebecca Disler, Amy Pascoe, Xinye Esther Chen, Emily Lawson, Michael Cahyadi, Ajanth Paalendra, Helen Hickson, Julian Wright, Bronwyn Phillips, Sivakumar Subramaniam, Kristen Glenister, Jennifer Philip, Doranne Donesky, and Natasha Smallwood.
• Respiratory Research@Alfred, Department of Immunology and Pathology (R.D., A.Y.P., N.S.), Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Rural Health (R.D., E.L., H.H., J.W., S.S., K.G.), The University of Melbourne, Shepparton, VIC, Australia. Electronic address: rebecca.disler@monash.edu.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 May 1; 67 (5): 453462453-462.

Introduction/AimDespite clear benefit from palliative care in end-stage chronic diseases, access is often limited, and rural access largely undescribed. This study sought to determine if a palliative approach is provided to people with chronic disease in their terminal hospital admission.MethodsMultisite, retrospective medical record audit, of decedents with a primary diagnosis of chronic lung, heart, or renal failure, or multimorbidity of these conditions over 2019.ResultsOf 241 decedents, across five clinical sites, 143 (59.3%) were men, with mean age 80.47 years (SD 11.509), and diagnoses of chronic lung (n = 56, 23.2%), heart (n = 56, 23.2%), renal (n = 24, 10.0%) or multimorbidity disease (n = 105, 43.6%), and had 2.88 (3.04SD) admissions within 12 months. Outpatient chronic disease care was evident (n = 171, 73.7%), however, contact with a private physician (n = 91, 37.8%), chronic disease program (n = 61, 25.3%), or specialist nurse (n = 17, 7.1%) were less apparent. "Not-for-resuscitation" orders were common (n = 139, 57.7%), however, advance care planning (n = 71, 29.5%), preferred place of death (n = 18, 7.9%), and spiritual support (n = 18, 7.5%) were rarely documented. Referral to and input from palliative services were low (n = 74, 30.7% and n = 49, 20.3%), as was review of nonessential medications or blood tests (n = 86, 35.7%, and n = 78, 32.4%). Opioids were prescribed in 45.2% (n = 109). Hospital site and diagnosis were significantly associated with outpatient care and palliative approach (P<0.001).ConclusionsEnd-of-life planning and specialist palliative care involvement occurred infrequently for people with chronic disease who died in rural hospitals. Targeted strategies are necessary to improve care for these prevalent and high needs rural populations.Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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