Elements of effective palliative care models: a rapid review.

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care Research
• Health Services Research
• Geriatric Medicine

Background:

• Global population ageing and evolving care needs necessitate critical evaluation of palliative care models.
• Societal shifts and changing illness profiles require updated approaches to life-limiting illness management.
• This study aims to identify evidence-based palliative care models to inform Australian policy reform.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify evidence-based palliative care models.
• To inform policy reform in Australia regarding palliative care.
• To evaluate current models in light of demographic and societal changes.

Main Methods:

• Rapid review of electronic databases and grey literature (April-June 2012).
• Inclusion of policy documents and comparative studies from OECD countries published since 2001.
• Narrative synthesis due to variability in study designs and reporting.

Main Results:

• Analysis focused on model elements rather than entire models due to significant variation.
• Case management emerged as a consistently effective element supported by comparative studies.
• Essential attributes identified include inter-provider communication, skill enhancement, and adaptive capacity.

Conclusions:

• Palliative care models must integrate specialist, primary, and community care, facilitating seamless transitions across settings.
• Future research should explore interactions between model components and patient, provider, and system factors.
• Findings are limited by the rapid review methodology and Australia-centric focus.