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dc.contributor.authorMcNamara, Beverley
dc.contributor.authorRosenwax, Lorna
dc.contributor.authorMurray, Kevin
dc.contributor.authorCurrow, D.
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-30T12:35:26Z
dc.date.available2017-01-30T12:35:26Z
dc.date.created2013-08-21T20:00:25Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.identifier.citationMcNamara, Beverley A. and Rosenwax, Lorna K. and Murray, Kevin and Currow, David C. 2013. Early Admission to Community-Based Palliative Care Reduces Use of Emergency Departments in the Ninety Days before Death. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 16 (7): pp. 774-779.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/23098
dc.identifier.doi10.1089/jpm.2012.0403
dc.description.abstract

Background: Overcrowded emergency departments (EDs) and the staff within them are often not able to address the complex physical and psychosocial needs of people at the end of life. While some studies have suggested that the ED environment should be adapted and staff trained to address this issue, there are no previous studies which have investigated whether the provision of timely palliative care services could prevent people with palliative care needs from attending EDs. Objective: This study investigates whether early admission to community-based palliative care reduces ED admissions in the last 90 days of life for patients with cancer. Methods: The study was a retrospective, cross-sectional study using death registrations and hospital morbidity data for 746 Western Australian adults who died of cancer and where palliative care may have been a viable and appropriate option for care. Results: In their final 90 days before death, 31.3% of decedents who had early access to palliative care and 52.0% of those who did not have early access to palliative care visited an ED (OR=2.86; 95% CI, 1.91, 4.30). Early admission to community-based palliative care reduces the use of EDs by cancer patients in the 90 days before death. Conclusions: Proactive care in the form of timely community-based palliative care assists in preventing vulnerable people at the end of life from being exposed to the stressful ED environment and decreases the pressure on EDs.

dc.publisherMary Ann Liebert, Inc Publishers
dc.titleEarly Admission to Community-Based Palliative Care Reduces Use of Emergency Departments in the Ninety Days before Death
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.source.volume16
dcterms.source.number7
dcterms.source.startPage774
dcterms.source.endPage779
dcterms.source.issn1096-6218
dcterms.source.titleJournal of Palliative Medicine
curtin.department
curtin.accessStatusFulltext not available


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