Assessing the Need for and Potential Role of a Day Hospice: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

We conducted a qualitative case study as part of a needs assessment for a day hospice in a small Ontario city. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with 28 stakeholders: nine health care administrators, 11 health care providers, and eight lay people (terminally ill adults and informal caregivers). Respondents described support, counselling, social activities, and respite as key day hospice services. They also described several barriers to accessing services, including location, transportation, admission criteria, referrals, and fees. For most respondents, the ideal staff mix includes both volunteers and paid professionals in either a free-standing organization or institutionally linked hospice. Although the vast majority of participants were reluctant to impose admission criteria or other limitations on hospice clientele, they expressed the need to ensure equitable access to this scarce resource. Opinions varied greatly across stakeholder groups, highlighting the need to collect information from all relevant stakeholder groups when planning hospices.

Status, demand and practice models of palliative day-care clinics and day hospices: a scoping review

“…Studies examining the referral process described the establishment of defined referral criteria. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] However, the specific criteria differed across studies. Frequently reported criteria included the diagnosis of a progressive life-limiting disease [20][21][22] and the need for specific palliative care, [19][20][21][22] often in combination.…”

“…15 These studies highlighted that referrals were made by community palliative care teams, 19 24 25 palliative care inpatient units, 25 26 various outpatient hospital services, 15 social workers 25 and primary healthcare teams, including general practitioners. 17 25 26 Lohfeld et al 23 described that health professionals (including administrators and experienced palliative care providers) demanded that a wide range of professionals be allowed to make referrals to palliative day-care.…”