title: "What she told us made the world of difference": carers' perspectives on a hospice at home service.
abstract: This paper explores the expectations and needs of current and bereaved carers whose relatives received care at home from a palliative care team.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  A hospice at home service was established in 2006 to provide patients with care in their own homes. We examined whether this model of care was helpful in mitigating carers' burden and in enabling terminally ill patients to be cared for and die at home.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study utilized a survey and interviews. Participants were carers in the midwest of Ireland. Survey responses from 122 carers were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 (SPSS Inc., 2009); interviews with 15 carers were also conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Carers' expectations of the service were often exceeded, and quality of care dimensions were rated highly. Future improvements could include facilitating discussions on place of death and offering bereavement support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The service is supporting carers in facilitating their relatives' choice to die at home.
authors.affiliation: Division of Occupational Therapy, Mary Seacole Building, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK UB8 3PH. elizabeth.mckay@brunel.ac.uk
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: McKay
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Therapies, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
authors.forename: Ann E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour Academic Group, DCU Business School, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Armstrong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001601:Bereavement; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006738:Hospices; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D012144:Respite Care; D012944:Social Support