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Rural health professionals’ perspectives on providing grief and loss support in cancer care
Author(s) -
Breen L.J.,
O'Connor M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.12091
Subject(s) - metropolitan area , grief , medicine , rural area , nursing , service (business) , health professionals , service delivery framework , health care , economic growth , psychiatry , business , pathology , marketing , economics
Research demonstrates considerable inequalities in service delivery and health outcomes for people with cancer living outside large metropolitan cities. Semi‐structured interviews with 11 professionals providing grief and loss support for people with cancer and their families in rural, regional, and remote areas W estern A ustralia revealed the challenges they faced in delivering such support. The data are presented in four themes – Inequity of regional versus metropolitan services, Strain of the ‘Jack of all trades’ role, Constraints to accessing professional development, and Challenges in delivering post‐bereavement services. These challenges are likely to be of growing concern given that populations are declining in rural areas as A ustralia becomes increasingly urban. The findings have implications in enhancing the loss and grief support services available in rural, regional, and remote W estern A ustralia, including those grieving the death of a loved one through cancer.