Assessing the need for and potential role of a day hospice: A qualitative study

We conducted a qualitative case study as part of a needs assessment for a d ay hospice in a small Ontario city. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with 28 stakeholders: nine health care administrators, 11 healt h care providers, and eight lay people (terminally ill adults and informal caregivers). Respondents described support, counselling, social activities, and respite as key day hospice services. They also described several barri ers to accessing services, including location, transportation, admission cr iteria, referrals, and fees. For most respondents, the ideal staff mix incl udes both volunteers and paid professionals in either a free-standing organ ization or institutionally linked hospice. Although the vast majority of pa rticipants were reluctant to impose admission criteria or other limitations on hospice clientele, they expressed the need to ensure equitable access t o this scarce resource. Opinions varied greatly across stakeholder groups, highlighting the need to collect information from all relevant stakeholder groups when planning hospices.