A method for defining and estimating the palliative care population.
Palliative care research is challenged by a disagreement as to what palliative care is, when it should be offered and what conditions warrant specialized palliative care services. These challenges became evident when we used a population-based data linkage to evaluate the delivery of palliative care services in Western Australia. This paper describes the development of a conceptual framework to provide minimal, mid-range, and maximal estimates of a palliative care population. The estimates include nonmalignant conditions; realistically restrict the number and types of conditions; and propose a time frame over which specialized services can be offered. In defining a palliative care population for the purpose of research, development of an estimation method simultaneously addressed the rhetoric of palliative care with the restrictions inherent in both population-based research and service delivery. When applied to a population, the 10 conditions of the minimal estimate provide an acceptable guide to future research and practice.
McNamara
Beverley
B
School of Social and Cultural Studies, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia. bevmc@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Rosenwax
Lorna K
LK
Holman
C D'Arcy J
CD
D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059408:Pain Management; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology