Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
If not home, where? Implementing an innovative model of care as an alternative place of care & death for patients living in an area of high socio-economic deprivation. Short-report on opening a long-term palliative care unit.
Healthcare professionals and policy makers often view home as the most appropriate place of care and death for patients. However, this makes assumptions about what home is like and does not account for high levels of complexity experienced by patients from areas of high socioeconomic deprivation. Alternative models of care should be explored to provide equitable care for this patient group. ⋯ We suggest that this model has been a valuable asset in providing an alternative place to home, enabling patients to receive high-quality care towards end of life. Further research is needed to hear directly from patients about their experiences.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
The viability and appropriateness of using visual methods in end of life research to foreground the experiences of people affected by financial hardship and deprivation.
Visual methods have been used extensively in social research to explore people's experiences of structural disadvantage. This indicates that they may provide a useful research approach to understanding equity-related concerns within palliative care. However, little has been published regarding the use of visual methods with people at the end of life. ⋯ To successfully use visual methods, researchers need to invest significant time and resource in building a strong rapport with participants. There are also key ethical, practical and representational challenges to consider. A participatory framework should be adopted which ensures agency for participants in terms of image creation and public dissemination. Participants reported value in using visual methods in terms of legacy building and self-representation. Using photovoice (insider's view) and professional photography (outsider's view) together offered complementary perspectives, enabling a rich layering of stories and meaning. Our findings indicate visual methods can illuminate aspects of the end of life experience not captured by other research methods.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
Applying the community readiness model to identify and address inequity in end-of-life care in South Asian communities.
Individuals from minoritised ethnic backgrounds are less likely than individuals from the dominant ethnic group to access palliative care services and to have documented Advance Care Plans. They are more likely to be admitted to hospital in the last months of life. ⋯ The Community Readiness Model allowed insight into the South Asian communities' awareness of and readiness (to use) palliative care services. Using the Community Readiness Model before service implementation allowed steps to be taken to avoid widening inequities in access and use of new services.