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Transfer of patients from palliative care services to nursing homes is necessary at present when a patient is relatively stable, but does not have adequate support systems at home. With the ageing of the population and the increasing incidence of cancer, the need for inpatient palliative care beds is growing with corresponding pressure for patients to be transferred to nursing homes. Transfer to a nursing home in the general population has been described extensively in the gerontology literature where a critical early phase of relocation has been identified by a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. The vulnerability of terminally ill patients means that they are at increased risk of suffering from stress associated with a transfer. The prognosis of a patient may be shorter than the time required for adjustment to the patient's new home. The issues surrounding transfer of palliative care patients to nursing homes and possible strategies designed to reduce distress associated with transfers are explored.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	relocation, stress, palliative care patients
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Health services and systems
Research Field:	Patient safety
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Health status (incl. wellbeing)
UTAS Author:	Martin, K (Professor Karen Martin)
ID Code:	153999
Year Published:	1997
Web of Science® Times Cited:	8
Deposited By:	Education
Deposited On:	2022-10-21
Last Modified:	2023-01-09
Downloads:	0