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What We Did
Due to the aging of populations in many developed countries, the need to re-think palliative and end-of-life care delivery has been recognised. From 2016-2038, the number of people dying in New Zealand is predicted to increase by almost 50%. These projections indicate that palliative care requirements will increase by 37.5% in public hospitals, 84.2% in Aged Residential Care (ARC) and 51.8% in hospice care. A team of UC researchers surveyed bereaved relatives about the experience of end-of-life care for their family member from two time periods; the last three months of life and the last two days of life. The questionnaire was adapted from an original survey conducted in UK.
Who Was Involved
The South Island Alliance (SIA) of five district health boards (Canterbury, Otago-Southland, South Canterbury, Nelson-Marlborough, West Coast).
Why It Matters
Dying is not merely a medical event but a family and social event that is supported by health services and community support agencies working in partnership with families. End-of-life-care is the responsibility of all of society, so it is very important to seek the experience of families to ensure services meet their needs. The questionnaire proved an acceptable and practical way to gain helpful knowledge. The results confirmed that to die at home is the preference of most people, but this is not a reality for many, influenced by the gap between availability of services and the ability of family to care for them at home. Furthermore, only a small minority receive hospice care. Most people receive end-of-life care from primary health care teams, GPs, district nurses, ARC, acute hospitals, and home and community services. People were treated with dignity and respect and received both practical and emotional support, a critical combination of community palliative care.
Learn More
Reid K., Kirk R., Barnett P., Richardson A. and Ahuriri-Driscoll A. (2020) VOICES: South Island Pilot Survey of Bereaved People. New Zealand Medical Journal 133(1518): 64-70.
Reid K., Kirk R., Barnett P., Richardson A. and Ahuriri-Driscoll A. (2019) VOICES South Island pilot survey of bereaved people. In VOICES South Island pilot survey of bereaved people, Commissioned by SIAPO. 1-80.
