Promising Practices for Improving Equity in Access to Palliative Care

Many current models of palliative care are not prepared to meet the needs of people who are vulnerably housed, staying in shelters or living in outdoor spaces. The healthcare system can make inequities worse as people who are already structurally vulnerable can experience stigma, discrimination and racism when accessing care. There are often barriers to diagnosis, treatment and support needs, which means that health conditions that could be preventable or treatable may become life threatening.

The health outcomes of people experiencing homelessness are in stark contrast to the general population, with substantially greater risk of disease, morbidity and mortality. The Federal Action Plan on Palliative Care highlights the importance of taking action to improve access to palliative care for underserved populations, including improving access to culturally safe and appropriate care. Equity-oriented care recognizes system barriers and seeks to address them to ensure access to high-quality care.

In response, communities across Canada have designed innovative models of equity-oriented palliative care to improve access to safe and high-quality palliative care for those experiencing structural vulnerabilities. These models ensure care is delivered in a timely way, help reduce emergency department visits and hospital admissions and allow people to receive care with dignity in their environment of their choice.

The promising practice summaries were created to profile leading innovative equity-oriented palliative care models from across the country. These summaries offer details about:

• how the promising practice works

• partnerships and collaborations

• evaluation and impacts

• lessons learned, including enablers and challenges