Safety issues at the end of life in the home setting.

Patients who choose care in a home setting at the end of life may be at risk because of their declining cognitive or physical abilities, environmental hazards in the home, or caregiving issues. Although safety concerns in hospitals have been well documented, knowledge about safety issues in the home setting is limited. This qualitative, focused-ethnographic study was conducted to understand the safety issues that occur in the home setting from the perspective of home care clinicians who manage these issues for end-of-life patients.

Enhancing the role of case managers with specialty populations: development and evaluation of a palliative care education program.

Palliative home care is an important component of the care system for patients at the end of life and case management is considered an essential element of the Canadian home care system. Case managers play a critical role in allocating resources, thus influencing the costs and the viability of palliative home care. Case management education programs focused on care coordination with specialty palliative care populations are nonexistent.