Evaluation of Community-based Palliative Care Services: Perspectives from Various Stakeholders

As a part of Memorandum of Understanding with Tamil Nadu Institute of Palliative Medicine, community-based palliative care services have been initiated 2 years back in our urban field practice areas.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the home care service, a major component of our community-based palliative care, with a view to identify the unmet needs of the services rendered for decision-making about the program.

It was a descriptive qualitative design carried out by the authors trained in qualitative research methods. In-depth interviews were done among four patients, seven caregivers, two social workers, six nursing staffs, and six medical interns for a minimum of 20 min. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and content analysis was done manually. Ethical principles were adhered throughout the study.

Descriptive coding of the text information was done; later, similar codes were merged together to form the categories. Five categories under the theme of strengths and five codes under the theme of challenges of the home care services emerged out. Categories under strengths were physical management, psychological care, social support, efficient teamwork, and acceptance by the community. Codes for felt challenges were interdisciplinary collaboration, volunteer involvement, training enhancement, widening the services, and enhancing the community support.

This review revealed the concerns of various stakeholders. There is a need for more interprofessional collaborations, where team members understand each other's roles for effective teamwork, as evident from the framework analysis.