Community readiness for Palliative Care Services in Switzerland: Basis for public health strategy for health psychologists

Abstract

Integrated healthcare delivery is essential for ensuring health cost efficiency and high quality care for patients. In Switzerland, cantonal differences in approaches to palliative careimplementation contribute to fragmented provision of palliative care services. ‘Community readiness’is a practical tool for assessing the status and change in community health services. The aim of this paper is to assess community readiness for palliative care services in Switzerland. A document analysis was carried out in combination with expert interviews with palliative caremembers in four Swiss cantons (Ticino, Vaud, Basel-City and Lucerne). The findings indicate differences with respect to the history, provisional structure, coordination and financial support for palliative care in the cantons. Findings indicate that future research to improve provisional structures, financing and educational opportunities for PC in the cantons, specific to the needs of the canton, warrant investigation