Bereavement Support in Palliative Care: A National Survey of Australian Services

作者：Conrad Kobel, Darcy Morris, Cristina Thompson, Kathryn Williams · 发表于：Journal of Palliative Medicine · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1089/jpm.2018.0502 · 被引用次数：20 · 研究领域：Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health、Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues、Migration, Health and Trauma

Abstract Background: Bereavement support is an integral part of palliative care. However, audits of Australian palliative care services have consistently identified bereavement care as one of the highest priorities for improvement. Objective: We assessed equity of access to bereavement support across Australian palliative care services by using survey data to compare services according to location (metropolitan vs. regional). We also evaluated changes in bereavement support over the last decade by comparing findings to results of a previous Australian study. Design, Setting, and Participants: A national, cross-sectional online survey of Australian palliative care services conducted from August to September 2017. Main Outcome Measures: Services' self-reported provision of bereavement support. Results: One hundred and eighty services (84%) responded. Of these, 91% provided bereavement support. Most offered support to all bereaved persons connected to the service. More than 80% of services provided a wide range of support types. Metropolitan services were more likely than regional services to offer specialist bereavement interventions. The staff most involved in coordinating and delivering bereavement support were social workers, nurses (particularly in regional areas), and bereavement coordinators/counselors (particularly in metropolitan areas). Resource limitations presented barriers to provision of bereavement support. Conclusions: Across Australia, in principle, access to be...