Centre for Health Service Development, Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI), Faculty of Business, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
J Palliat Med. 2019 Aug;22(8):933-938. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2018.0502. Epub 2019 Feb 22.
Bereavement support is an integral part of palliative care. However, audits of Australian palliative care services have consistently identified bereavement care as one of the highest priorities for improvement. We assessed equity of access to bereavement support across Australian palliative care services by using survey data to compare services according to location (metropolitan vs. regional). We also evaluated changes in bereavement support over the last decade by comparing findings to results of a previous Australian study. A national, cross-sectional online survey of Australian palliative care services conducted from August to September 2017. Services' self-reported provision of bereavement support. One hundred and eighty services (84%) responded. Of these, 91% provided bereavement support. Most offered support to all bereaved persons connected to the service. More than 80% of services provided a wide range of support types. Metropolitan services were more likely than regional services to offer specialist bereavement interventions. The staff most involved in coordinating and delivering bereavement support were social workers, nurses (particularly in regional areas), and bereavement coordinators/counselors (particularly in metropolitan areas). Resource limitations presented barriers to provision of bereavement support. Across Australia, in principle, access to bereavement support through palliative care services remains largely equitable. Nevertheless, observed variations in the type of professional delivering care and the level of support indicate that a more consistent approach is required. An increase in the range of supports available compared with a decade ago signifies a more comprehensive approach to bereavement support by many Australian palliative care services.
丧亲支持是姑息治疗的一个组成部分。然而，对澳大利亚姑息治疗服务的审计一直将丧亲护理确定为需要优先改进的最高事项之一。我们通过使用调查数据根据地点（城市与地区）比较服务，评估了澳大利亚姑息治疗服务中丧亲支持的获取公平性。我们还通过将研究结果与澳大利亚之前的一项研究进行比较，评估了过去十年丧亲支持的变化情况。 这是一项于 2017 年 8 月至 9 月期间针对澳大利亚姑息治疗服务进行的全国性、横断面在线调查。 服务机构自我报告的丧亲支持提供情况。 有 180 家服务机构（84%）做出了回应。其中，91%的机构提供丧亲支持。大多数机构向与服务机构有关的所有丧亲人员提供支持。超过 80%的机构提供多种类型的支持。与地区服务相比，城市服务更有可能提供专门的丧亲干预措施。最参与协调和提供丧亲支持的工作人员是社会工作者、护士（特别是在地区）以及丧亲协调员/顾问（特别是在城市地区）。资源限制是提供丧亲支持的障碍。 在澳大利亚，原则上，通过姑息治疗服务获得丧亲支持的机会在很大程度上是公平的。然而，所观察到的提供护理的专业人员类型和支持水平的差异表明，需要采取更一致的方法。与十年前相比，现在可提供的支持种类有所增加，这表明许多澳大利亚姑息治疗服务对丧亲支持采取了更全面的方法。
