title: Rural palliative care transitions from home to hospital: carers' experiences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To document carer perceptions of patients' transitions from community to hospital-based palliative care in a rural setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative study using an interview method at two time points.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rural palliative care providers: Kyneton District Health Service and the Macedon Ranges Palliative Care Service, Victoria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six adult caregivers of six palliative care patients who had cancer were interviewed, three of whom were male and three female.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semistructured interviews were conducted exploring the caregivers' decisions to transition to hospital-based care and their perceptions of the transition to hospital and the hospital-based care these patients received.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thematic analysis revealed that carers made the decision for the patient in their care to transfer from home to hospital care. Carers experienced the transition to hospital care positively, particularly in relation to the communication of the patient's care needs. While communication issues arose while in hospital, they were not related to the transitional aspects of the palliative care service.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this small, exploratory study suggest that these carers benefited from the new model of rural palliative care service provision. A large-scale, mixed-method study would enable more generalisable findings to be established.
authors.affiliation: Kyneton District Health Service, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hatcher
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.forename: Brigid
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: Kellie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Foran
authors.forename: Jacqui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tarrant
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006760:Hospitalization; D006780:Hospitals, Rural; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D010360:Patient Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019035:Rural Health Services; D014739:Victoria
keywords: carer; communication; model of rural service provision; nursing; palliative care