A qualitative exploration of the experiences of people living alone and receiving community-based palliative care.

Abstract

It is projected that in Australia there will be between 28% and 48% of palliative care patients living alone by the year 2031. As such, it will become increasingly important to provide appropriate home-based care in order to support these patients to be cared for and die at home. This study explored the experiences of community-based palliative care cancer patients who live alone without a caregiver and what psychosocial issues they face. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted with eight participants, and constant comparison was used for the analysis. Four main themes emerged: (1) loss of social networks; (2) maintaining independence; (3) balancing independence and the need for assistance; and (4) planning for the end of life. Participants balanced independence with the need to accept help in order to maintain independence. Participants became more flexible about their preferred place of death. The practice implications for working with people close to death who are living alone are that supports and assistance may be needed to maintain social networks and also a sense of independence.