Reasons for patients in high income countries accessing hospital care while receiving specialist community palliative care: A systematic review and meta-ethnography

Apr 27, 2026

This episode features Norah Elvidge  (School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia. Silverchain, Melbourne, VIC, Australia).

 

What is already known on this topic?

• Many people with palliative care needs would prefer to be cared for and/or die at home.
• Many people will be cared for at home by specialist community palliative care services.
• Despite this, hospitalisation rates remain high for people receiving specialist community palliative care services.
• Carers face physical, emotional and financial burden caring for someone with palliative care needs at home.

 

What this paper adds

• Provides a deeper understanding of the contextual and individual determinants of why people receiving specialist community palliative care access unplanned hospital care.
• Provides insight into specialist palliative care carer behaviour at the end of life.
• Highlights the importance of the carer’s role in decisions surrounding acute care access for people at the end of life.

 

Implications for practice, theory or policy

• Further research is needed to capture the perspective of people receiving specialist community palliative care regarding the reasons for unplanned hospital use.
• The number of unplanned hospital presentations for people receiving community palliative care may be reduced through the provision of better formal support for their carers.
• Examining factors contributing to unplanned hospital use supports specialist community palliative care services to refine models of care and optimise care delivery.

 

Full paper available from:    

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02692163261418625

 

If you would like to record a podcast about your published (or accepted) Palliative Medicine paper, please contact Dr Amara Nwosu: 

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