title: A qualitative investigation of the palliative care needs of terminally ill people who live alone.
abstract: This paper investigates the support needs of people living alone with a terminal illness from a client perspective. In depth, interviews were conducted with 11 clients from Silver Chain Hospice Care in Western Australia to capture their personal experiences of managing at home alone and to assess their physical, social and emotional needs. Findings provided useful insights with respect to many of the motivations, beliefs and wishes of individuals who endeavour to cope on their own with minimal assistance. The needs of these individuals are practical, emotional, physical and existential. At the heart of these concerns is a strong need to be independent and maintain a sense of dignity at end of life.
authors.affiliation: WA Centre for Cancer and Palliative Care, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley, WA 6028, Australia. s.aoun@curtin.edu.au
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aoun
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Kristjanson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oldham
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Currow
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*; D014904:Western Australia