Table 1 Community Readiness Variables and Indicators Added Following Pilot Study (adapted from [41])
Variable | Meaning | Binary Indicator (Y/N) |
|---|---|---|
Community Awareness | Showing evidence that palliative care is a priority issue. Does palliative care have visibility or a ‘profile’ in the community? | Is there a local hospice society (in that these groups play a major role in local advocacy)? |
Training and Education | Strengthening palliative care in rural communities requires providing local education opportunities. Is there a site to host and possibly coordinate such initiatives? | Is there a local college or university campus? |
Telemedicine utilization | Telemedicine can increase capacity for providing palliative care in smaller sites. Is the community ready to link to larger centres via telemedicine in order to facilitate information sharing? | Is there regular use of telemedicine at the local hospital? |
Presence of family doctors | Family doctors play a vital role in providing palliative care in rural areas. Are there adequate family medicine resources locally to enhance palliative care provision? | Do family doctors practicing locally have an adequate family physician to population ratio? |
Momentum | Enhancing palliative care is not an end point, but rather the start of accomplishing larger goals. Has there been demonstration by the community of the desire to increase palliative care capacity? | Has a proposal been put forth to create a local hospice? |