Patient Satisfaction with Home Based Palliative Care: A Mixed Methods Analysis

As the elderly, chronically ill population increases, healthcare agencies are trying to offer more palliative care services to improve patients’ quality of life by alleviating physical pain and addressing psychosocial needs, especially in home settings. Care Choices is a new, home-based palliative care service offered jointly through the Visiting Nurse Service of Northeastern New York and Ellis Hospital. In an effort to assess the patient perceived success of Care Choices, this study used mixed methods designed to evaluate patient satisfaction with the quality of care.  A total of 99 Reid-Gundlach Satisfaction questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of active patients across three quarterly assessments from [10/28/16-4/27/17]. In addition, qualitative in-home interviews, based on the Most Significant Change (MSC) model, were conducted (N=4) to gather patient narratives about their experiences on Care Choices.  Frequency analyses were performed on satisfaction scores of questionnaires returned (N=37).  Results revealed consistently high marks of satisfaction. Overall, patients expressed a high assessment of services and reported that they would recommend Care Choices to others.  In addition, when asked to describe the most significant moments during their time on the program, patients expressed high satisfaction noting that care providers instilled a sense of purpose and hope in their lives. These results are encouraging, as they indicate high patient satisfaction with care when it is provided in the home.