Table 2 Revised Community Readiness Variables and Indicators

Community Awareness

Showing evidence that palliative care is a priority issue. Does palliative care have visibility or a ‘profile’ in the community?

Subjective Indicator: presence of locally-relevant factors that indicate community awareness can result in ‘Yes’ for this variable (factors may include: presence of local hospice society; educational tools promoting awareness; presence of community volunteers; stakeholder acknowledgement).

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?

Binary Indicator (Y/N): 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?

Binary Indicator (Y/N): 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?

Binary Indicator (Y/N): 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?

Subjective Indicator: presence of locally-relevant factors that indicate momentum can result in ‘Yes’ for this variable (factors may include: proposal for local hospice; new employment or volunteer positions; new spaces or places being created; projects and plans implemented at larger scales).