Improving Access to Community Palliative Care for Patients Without a Primary Care Provider in Vancouver: Short-Term Integrated Palliative and Primary Care Model

This project is funded by Doctors of BC Shared Care Committee. It will address the care gap that community patients experience when they have life-limiting illness and need specialized palliative care.

The existing program is a consultant model, reliant on ongoing care by a primary care provider. Through focus groups and a Delphi survey of palliative care experts and nurse practitioners from across British Columbia, a new role was developed, to provide short-term primary and palliative care for unattached patients through piloting a model involving an embedded nurse practitioner. The embedded NP role will be tested and refined through PDSA cycles, using quantitative and qualitative methodology, over an 18-month period.

Two ways for engagement:
(1) Steering Committee Member (1 position): patient/family caregiver advisor to consult on implementation for pilot model and material review.
(2) Focus group / interview (up to 20): patient and family caregivers to provide their lived experiences to help identify care gaps for individuals with life-limiting disease or require palliative care.

Engagement will be based virtually (where needed in person engagement based in Vancouver).

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Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of Consult on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation.

Eligibility

• Willing & comfortable to share health care experiences in a group setting
• Specific health care experiences [details below]
• Have access to technology and the internet to participate in the engagement opportunity
• Comfortable using technology to attend online/virtual meetings
• An interest in improving health care services
• Participant identify to belong in one of the following groups: 1. Patients and their caregivers currently receiving palliative care in community or their bereaved care givers. 2. Patients with chronic life limiting diseases recruited from clinics such as: Cardiac Function Clinic, Kidney Care Clinic 3. Patients without a primary care provider in addition to Criteria 1 and 2 4. Patients from community day program recipients for the elderly in addition to Criteria 1 and 2

Patient Partners ARE NOT required to be PVN members to participate in this engagement opportunity.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Barbara Lai Project Manager, Vancouver Community Palliative Care Program | Vancouver Coastal Health (604) 805-2271 barbara.lai@vch.ca

Interested?

Apply by February 04, 2025.

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