title: Evaluation of Hospital-Based Palliative Care Programs.
abstract: This study evaluated current hospital-based palliative care programs using recommendations from the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) as a framework. Seven hospitals located in Buffalo, New York were included based on the existence of a hospital-based palliative care program. Data was collected from August through October of 2013 by means of key informant interviews with nine staff members from these hospitals using a guide comprised of questions based on CAPC's recommendations. A gap analysis was conducted to analyze the current state of each hospital's program based upon CAPC's definition of a quality palliative care program. The findings identify challenges facing both existing/evolving palliative care programs, and establish a foundation for strategies to attain best practices not yet implemented. This study affirms the growing availability of palliative care services among these selected hospitals along with opportunities to improve the scope of services in line with national recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services Administration, D'Youville College, Buffalo, NY, USA fischk10@dyc.edu.
authors.forename: Karen Lynn
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Services Administration, D'Youville College, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rafalson
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, D'Youville College, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mariano
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michalek
mesh_terms: D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D017051:Hospice Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009518:New York; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: barriers in quality; best practices; gap analysis; hospital-based palliative care; qualitative analyses; quality care