A registered nurse in 20 weeks?
- Miller, Elizabeth, Cooper, Simon J.
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Cooper, Simon J.
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal Vol. 24, no. 1 (2016), p. 34
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper raises concerns and issues related to the adequacy of nursing students' clinical placement hours.
Food security and wellbeing project evaluation 2022-2023
- Porter, Joanne, Simic, Megan, Miller, Elizabeth, Bransgrove, Natalie, Barbagallo, Michael, Peck, Blake, Unsworth, Carolyn, Hewitt, Alana, Soldatenko, Daria, Hualda, Luis, My, Sambath, Prokopiv, Valerie
- Authors: Porter, Joanne , Simic, Megan , Miller, Elizabeth , Bransgrove, Natalie , Barbagallo, Michael , Peck, Blake , Unsworth, Carolyn , Hewitt, Alana , Soldatenko, Daria , Hualda, Luis , My, Sambath , Prokopiv, Valerie
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Technical report , Report
- Full Text:
- Description: Although the country is transitioning out of COVID-19 lockdowns and easing restrictions, Australians are now facing increased costs of living. Global political unrest, interest rate rises, and inflation have seen the prices of fuel, food and household bills surge, increasing the strain on individuals and families. Fruit and vegetables have seen cost increases by almost 7% from last year, with this figure only estimated to rise. During the same period, however, takeaway food prices increased marginally by 0.7%, potentially due to government subsidy and voucher systems introduced post COVID-19 lockdowns. The strain of food prices is felt even more greatly by those living in regional, rural and remote Australia, with prices increasing due to freight costs. The Morwell Neighbourhood House (MNH) Food Bank provides emergency relief without requiring an appointment and is unrestricted by postcode or healthcare card status. The Food Bank is supported by St Vinnies Morwell, which provides $12,000 annually towards the cost of food, and by numerous community organisations, individuals and businesses. Demand for the Food Bank has increased steadily and particularly so during the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate precursor to the People’s Kitchen was a 2019 project named Cooking for a Purpose. That involved GippsTAFE VCAL students preparing nutritious frozen meals using ingredients provided by MNH. The availability of frozen home-cooked meals has ensured that Food Bank clients have at least one nutritious hot meal per day. The CERC was commissioned to explore the activities of the MNH, gaining an insight into how the whole of person approach to food security was being implemented. This understanding was gained through the perspective of those who were paid employees, Volunteers or accessed the MNH services, outlining the benefits, barriers and future suggestions for the MNH operations when addressing food security in the Latrobe Valley. Data were collected between 2022 - 2023 using a mixed methods approach to understand the impact of the MNH services on participants. Participants included MNH stakeholders, staff, Volunteers, secondary school students and people who accessed the MNH services. In addition to this, a comprehensive literature review was performed to understand the global landscape of food insecurity, exploring how people access Food Banks, the opportunities that arise from engaging with food security service activities and the perspectives of employees who ran these services.
- Authors: Porter, Joanne , Simic, Megan , Miller, Elizabeth , Bransgrove, Natalie , Barbagallo, Michael , Peck, Blake , Unsworth, Carolyn , Hewitt, Alana , Soldatenko, Daria , Hualda, Luis , My, Sambath , Prokopiv, Valerie
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Technical report , Report
- Full Text:
- Description: Although the country is transitioning out of COVID-19 lockdowns and easing restrictions, Australians are now facing increased costs of living. Global political unrest, interest rate rises, and inflation have seen the prices of fuel, food and household bills surge, increasing the strain on individuals and families. Fruit and vegetables have seen cost increases by almost 7% from last year, with this figure only estimated to rise. During the same period, however, takeaway food prices increased marginally by 0.7%, potentially due to government subsidy and voucher systems introduced post COVID-19 lockdowns. The strain of food prices is felt even more greatly by those living in regional, rural and remote Australia, with prices increasing due to freight costs. The Morwell Neighbourhood House (MNH) Food Bank provides emergency relief without requiring an appointment and is unrestricted by postcode or healthcare card status. The Food Bank is supported by St Vinnies Morwell, which provides $12,000 annually towards the cost of food, and by numerous community organisations, individuals and businesses. Demand for the Food Bank has increased steadily and particularly so during the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate precursor to the People’s Kitchen was a 2019 project named Cooking for a Purpose. That involved GippsTAFE VCAL students preparing nutritious frozen meals using ingredients provided by MNH. The availability of frozen home-cooked meals has ensured that Food Bank clients have at least one nutritious hot meal per day. The CERC was commissioned to explore the activities of the MNH, gaining an insight into how the whole of person approach to food security was being implemented. This understanding was gained through the perspective of those who were paid employees, Volunteers or accessed the MNH services, outlining the benefits, barriers and future suggestions for the MNH operations when addressing food security in the Latrobe Valley. Data were collected between 2022 - 2023 using a mixed methods approach to understand the impact of the MNH services on participants. Participants included MNH stakeholders, staff, Volunteers, secondary school students and people who accessed the MNH services. In addition to this, a comprehensive literature review was performed to understand the global landscape of food insecurity, exploring how people access Food Banks, the opportunities that arise from engaging with food security service activities and the perspectives of employees who ran these services.
Language and the built, natural, social, and symbolic environments during bad news conversations for people with a life-limiting illness : a case study methodology
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: Background Bad news of a life-limiting illness is devastating to receive and remains a difficult conversation for healthcare professionals to undertake, despite education and training. Bad news conversations occur anywhere along an illness trajectory and often take place with the acute ward that is busy, sterile, and unfamiliar to patients and family members. Method A qualitative case study research methodology was used to explore the case, being the phenomenon of receiving bad news of a life-limiting illness for people living in regional Victoria, Australia. The literature was examined to understand the physical hospital environment and truth disclosure within bad news delivery. Data was collected between November 2021 and August 2022, through 14 semi-structured interviews with patients and family members, 13 semi-structured interviews with registered nurses, a three week observation period at a private regional hospital. The theoretical framework of Therapeutic Landscapes enabled the built, nature, social, and symbolic environments to be examined. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis. Results A review of the literature resulted in the development of the "SSAFER place approach" concept model and found that patients need to feel safe in the hospital environment and that safety is equated with space for family and familiar notions of home. Nurses aimed to provide holistic person-centred through therapeutic relationships with patients and family members and create a home-life environment. It was found that a calm and quiet environment was essential for absorbing bad news, and patients and family members believed the way bad news was delivered, and the language used often needed to be improved. The audit of 17 family meeting s highlighted that death and dying language was rarely documented, and late referrals to palliative care services often occurred. The "Breaking bad news model," created from a second literature review supported the results of the thesis. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, patients, family members and nurses were negatively affected, creating a non-therapeutic social environment. Conclusion For patients and family members, a therapeutic landscape comprised of therapeutic relationship, open, honest and empathetic language delivered within holistic person-centred care. In addition, care needed to be provided within a calm and quiet environment to allow absorption and processing of bad news. Nurses providing palliative care aimed to meet patients and family needs holistically within an environment aesthetically tuned to be more home-like than clinical.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: Background Bad news of a life-limiting illness is devastating to receive and remains a difficult conversation for healthcare professionals to undertake, despite education and training. Bad news conversations occur anywhere along an illness trajectory and often take place with the acute ward that is busy, sterile, and unfamiliar to patients and family members. Method A qualitative case study research methodology was used to explore the case, being the phenomenon of receiving bad news of a life-limiting illness for people living in regional Victoria, Australia. The literature was examined to understand the physical hospital environment and truth disclosure within bad news delivery. Data was collected between November 2021 and August 2022, through 14 semi-structured interviews with patients and family members, 13 semi-structured interviews with registered nurses, a three week observation period at a private regional hospital. The theoretical framework of Therapeutic Landscapes enabled the built, nature, social, and symbolic environments to be examined. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and qualitative content analysis. Results A review of the literature resulted in the development of the "SSAFER place approach" concept model and found that patients need to feel safe in the hospital environment and that safety is equated with space for family and familiar notions of home. Nurses aimed to provide holistic person-centred through therapeutic relationships with patients and family members and create a home-life environment. It was found that a calm and quiet environment was essential for absorbing bad news, and patients and family members believed the way bad news was delivered, and the language used often needed to be improved. The audit of 17 family meeting s highlighted that death and dying language was rarely documented, and late referrals to palliative care services often occurred. The "Breaking bad news model," created from a second literature review supported the results of the thesis. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, patients, family members and nurses were negatively affected, creating a non-therapeutic social environment. Conclusion For patients and family members, a therapeutic landscape comprised of therapeutic relationship, open, honest and empathetic language delivered within holistic person-centred care. In addition, care needed to be provided within a calm and quiet environment to allow absorption and processing of bad news. Nurses providing palliative care aimed to meet patients and family needs holistically within an environment aesthetically tuned to be more home-like than clinical.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Men’s shed field officer project phase 2 evaluation 2022/2023
- Porter, Joanne, Coombs, Nicole, Soldatenko, Daria, Simic, Megan, Miller, Elizabeth, My, Sambath, Bransgrove, Natalie
- Authors: Porter, Joanne , Coombs, Nicole , Soldatenko, Daria , Simic, Megan , Miller, Elizabeth , My, Sambath , Bransgrove, Natalie
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Technical report , Report
- Full Text:
- Description: In September 2021, the Latrobe Health Assembly (LHA) and Victorian Men’s Sheds Association (VSMA) launched the Men’s Shed Field Officer in Latrobe to work with local men, Men’s Sheds and other men’s groups with the aim to achieve increased health and wellbeing outcomes for local men and support the activity of the Men’s Sheds in Latrobe. The Field Officer role had previously been evaluated by the Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC) from Federation University, with several recommendations made after analysing data collected from the Field Officer himself and the Shed members. At the end of the first year, it was recommended that the project be extended for another 12 months to allow the adaption of processes to permit further impact of the role. With identified misconceptions and challenges in identifying how the role could assist the Sheds, it was determined more time was required to learn about the Sheds and the individual needs associated with each different Shed culture. The Men’s Shed Field Officer engaged with Men’s Sheds in Toongabbie, Traralgon, Traralgon South, Boolarra, Churchill, Moe, Newborough, and Morwell and helped with the establishment of a new shed in Moe called Carpenter Bee Men’s Shed. The CERC was again commissioned to evaluate Phase 2 of the project with the aim to contribute to the knowledge regarding the best use of resources to achieve improved engagement with men across Latrobe and achieve enhanced health outcomes.
- Authors: Porter, Joanne , Coombs, Nicole , Soldatenko, Daria , Simic, Megan , Miller, Elizabeth , My, Sambath , Bransgrove, Natalie
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Technical report , Report
- Full Text:
- Description: In September 2021, the Latrobe Health Assembly (LHA) and Victorian Men’s Sheds Association (VSMA) launched the Men’s Shed Field Officer in Latrobe to work with local men, Men’s Sheds and other men’s groups with the aim to achieve increased health and wellbeing outcomes for local men and support the activity of the Men’s Sheds in Latrobe. The Field Officer role had previously been evaluated by the Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC) from Federation University, with several recommendations made after analysing data collected from the Field Officer himself and the Shed members. At the end of the first year, it was recommended that the project be extended for another 12 months to allow the adaption of processes to permit further impact of the role. With identified misconceptions and challenges in identifying how the role could assist the Sheds, it was determined more time was required to learn about the Sheds and the individual needs associated with each different Shed culture. The Men’s Shed Field Officer engaged with Men’s Sheds in Toongabbie, Traralgon, Traralgon South, Boolarra, Churchill, Moe, Newborough, and Morwell and helped with the establishment of a new shed in Moe called Carpenter Bee Men’s Shed. The CERC was again commissioned to evaluate Phase 2 of the project with the aim to contribute to the knowledge regarding the best use of resources to achieve improved engagement with men across Latrobe and achieve enhanced health outcomes.
Palliative and end-of-life care in the home in regional/rural Victoria, Australia : the role and lived experience of primary carers
- Miller, Elizabeth, Porter, Joanne, Peel, Rebecca
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Peel, Rebecca
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: SAGE Open Nursing Vol. 7, no. (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: Palliative support services (generalist or specialist) can provide much-needed assistance to carers who are providing palliative and end-of-life care in their homes, but access to such services in regional and rural areas of Australia is poorly understood. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the role and lived experience of primary carers who are providing palliative and end-of-life care in the home in regional/rural Victoria, Australia. Methods: Nine female participants, of whom six were bereaved between 7 and 20 months were interviewed using a semistructured interview technique. Each interview was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Results: Two themes emerged: “Negotiating healthcare systems” which described the needs for multidisciplinary supports and “The caring experience” which discussed daily tasks, relationships, mental and physical exhaustion, respite, isolation, medication management, and grief and loss. Findings show that regional/rural carers have an added burden of travel stress as well as feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and physically and emotionally exhausted. Carers would benefit from greater flexibility for short-term respite care. The engagement of specialist palliative care services assisted the participants to navigate the health care system. Some participants did not understand the value of palliative care, highlighting the need for general practitioners to conduct early conversations about this with their patients. Education is needed to build capacity within the primary palliative care workforce, confirming the importance of timely referrals to a specialist palliative care practitioner if pain or symptom control is not effectively managed. Conclusion: Providing palliative and end-of-life care in the home is an exhausting and emotionally draining role for unpaid, primary carers. Multiple supports are needed to sustain primary carers, as they play an essential role in the primary health care system. © The Author(s) 2021.
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Peel, Rebecca
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: SAGE Open Nursing Vol. 7, no. (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Introduction: Palliative support services (generalist or specialist) can provide much-needed assistance to carers who are providing palliative and end-of-life care in their homes, but access to such services in regional and rural areas of Australia is poorly understood. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the role and lived experience of primary carers who are providing palliative and end-of-life care in the home in regional/rural Victoria, Australia. Methods: Nine female participants, of whom six were bereaved between 7 and 20 months were interviewed using a semistructured interview technique. Each interview was audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Results: Two themes emerged: “Negotiating healthcare systems” which described the needs for multidisciplinary supports and “The caring experience” which discussed daily tasks, relationships, mental and physical exhaustion, respite, isolation, medication management, and grief and loss. Findings show that regional/rural carers have an added burden of travel stress as well as feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and physically and emotionally exhausted. Carers would benefit from greater flexibility for short-term respite care. The engagement of specialist palliative care services assisted the participants to navigate the health care system. Some participants did not understand the value of palliative care, highlighting the need for general practitioners to conduct early conversations about this with their patients. Education is needed to build capacity within the primary palliative care workforce, confirming the importance of timely referrals to a specialist palliative care practitioner if pain or symptom control is not effectively managed. Conclusion: Providing palliative and end-of-life care in the home is an exhausting and emotionally draining role for unpaid, primary carers. Multiple supports are needed to sustain primary carers, as they play an essential role in the primary health care system. © The Author(s) 2021.
Simplifying qualitative case study research methodology : a step-by-step guide using a palliative care example
- Miller, Elizabeth, Porter, Joanne, Barbagallo, Michael
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Qualitative Report Vol. 28, no. 8 (2023), p. 2363-2379
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Qualitative case study research can be a helpful methodology when conducting health research. However, it can be overlooked or dismissed as a possible methodological choice due to different epistemological positionings by case study theorists and often confusing and contradictory definitions and terminology. Much has been written about case studies, but it takes time to wade through volumes of often philosophically and methodologically dense material to locate a theorist who presents case study research at a depth the novice researcher can understand. Case study research literature may offer a condensed summary of processes but often needs more theoretical detail. Therefore, discerning where to begin can be time-consuming, frustrating, and overwhelming. There are very few qualitative case study protocols and no step-by-step guide describing the planning and decision-making process within nursing. To address the need for clarity, this article endeavors to set out how to conduct a qualitative case study in a step-by-step guide using the approaches of Merriam and Stake as the foundation using a palliative care setting as an application example. It contributes to knowledge and practice by developing a foundational understanding of case study methodology in the hope that novice researchers will consider case study research as a methodological choice for their study and conduct it in a trustworthy and rigorous manner. Copyright 2023: Elizabeth M. Miller, Joanne E. Porter, Michael S. Barbagallo, and Nova Southeastern University.
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Qualitative Report Vol. 28, no. 8 (2023), p. 2363-2379
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Qualitative case study research can be a helpful methodology when conducting health research. However, it can be overlooked or dismissed as a possible methodological choice due to different epistemological positionings by case study theorists and often confusing and contradictory definitions and terminology. Much has been written about case studies, but it takes time to wade through volumes of often philosophically and methodologically dense material to locate a theorist who presents case study research at a depth the novice researcher can understand. Case study research literature may offer a condensed summary of processes but often needs more theoretical detail. Therefore, discerning where to begin can be time-consuming, frustrating, and overwhelming. There are very few qualitative case study protocols and no step-by-step guide describing the planning and decision-making process within nursing. To address the need for clarity, this article endeavors to set out how to conduct a qualitative case study in a step-by-step guide using the approaches of Merriam and Stake as the foundation using a palliative care setting as an application example. It contributes to knowledge and practice by developing a foundational understanding of case study methodology in the hope that novice researchers will consider case study research as a methodological choice for their study and conduct it in a trustworthy and rigorous manner. Copyright 2023: Elizabeth M. Miller, Joanne E. Porter, Michael S. Barbagallo, and Nova Southeastern University.
The effects of the ward environment and language in palliative care : a qualitative exploratory study of Victorian nurses’ perspectives
- Miller, Elizabeth, Porter, Joanne, Barbagallo, Michael
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Health Environments Research and Design Journal Vol. 16, no. 4 (2023), p. 146-158
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: The current study aimed to explore regional nurses’ perspectives of how bad news is delivered and the physical, natural, social, and symbolic environments where these conversations occur. Background: In regional hospitals within Victoria, Australia, palliative and end-of-life patients are cared for in acute wards that are often busy, noisy, and do not have a palliative psychosocial focus. On the other hand, Palliative Care Units (PCUs) have more home-like dedicated spaces, yet nearly all these facilities are in metropolitan areas. Diagnostic/prognostic (bad news) conversations about life-limiting illnesses often occur at the bedside in both environments. Method: Nurses providing palliative or end-of-life care in regional or metropolitan Victorian hospital inpatient wards were invited to interview and recruited through social media and snowballing. Six semi-structured, audio-recorded online interviews were conducted between March and May 2022, and themes were developed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with six female, registered nurses, four of whom worked in regional Victorian hospitals and two in metropolitan PCUs as Nurse Unit Managers. Three central themes were developed: “conducting family meetings,” “palliative care practice,” and “the environment matters.” Conclusions: A therapeutic environment for palliative patients and their families consists of home-like ambience and aesthetics and a psychosocial environment created by staff who can provide holistic palliative care. Holistic palliative care requires mentoring and mirroring of expert practice to increase the expertise and capacity of the palliative care workforce in acute general hospital wards. © The Author(s) 2023.
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Health Environments Research and Design Journal Vol. 16, no. 4 (2023), p. 146-158
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: The current study aimed to explore regional nurses’ perspectives of how bad news is delivered and the physical, natural, social, and symbolic environments where these conversations occur. Background: In regional hospitals within Victoria, Australia, palliative and end-of-life patients are cared for in acute wards that are often busy, noisy, and do not have a palliative psychosocial focus. On the other hand, Palliative Care Units (PCUs) have more home-like dedicated spaces, yet nearly all these facilities are in metropolitan areas. Diagnostic/prognostic (bad news) conversations about life-limiting illnesses often occur at the bedside in both environments. Method: Nurses providing palliative or end-of-life care in regional or metropolitan Victorian hospital inpatient wards were invited to interview and recruited through social media and snowballing. Six semi-structured, audio-recorded online interviews were conducted between March and May 2022, and themes were developed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with six female, registered nurses, four of whom worked in regional Victorian hospitals and two in metropolitan PCUs as Nurse Unit Managers. Three central themes were developed: “conducting family meetings,” “palliative care practice,” and “the environment matters.” Conclusions: A therapeutic environment for palliative patients and their families consists of home-like ambience and aesthetics and a psychosocial environment created by staff who can provide holistic palliative care. Holistic palliative care requires mentoring and mirroring of expert practice to increase the expertise and capacity of the palliative care workforce in acute general hospital wards. © The Author(s) 2023.
- Miller, Elizabeth, Porter, Joanne, Barbagallo, Michael
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Palliative and Supportive Care Vol. 20, no. 3 (2022), p. 433-444
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective Disclosing the truth when breaking bad news continues to be difficult for health professionals, yet it is essential for patients when making informed decisions about their treatment and end-of-life care. This literature review aimed to explore and examine how health professionals, patients, and families experience truth disclosure during the delivery of bad news in the inpatient/outpatient palliative care setting. Methods A systemized search for peer-reviewed, published papers between 2013 and 2020 was undertaken in September 2020 using the CINAHL, Medline, and PsycInfo databases. The keywords and MeSH terms (truth disclosure) AND (palliative care or end-of-life care or terminal care or dying) were used. The search was repeated using (bad news) AND (palliative care or end-of-life care or terminal care or dying) terms. A meta-synthesis was undertaken to synthesize the findings from the eight papers. Results Eight papers were included in the meta-synthesis and were represented by five Western countries. Following the synthesis process, two concepts were identified: Enablers in breaking bad news and Truth avoidance/disclosure. Several elements formed the concept of Enablers for breaking bad news, such as the therapeutic relationship, reading cues, acknowledgment, language/delivery, time/place, and qualities. A conceptual model was developed to illustrate the findings of the synthesis. Significance of results The conceptual model demonstrates a unique way to look at communication dynamics around truth disclosure and avoidance when breaking bad news. Informed decision-making requires an understanding of the whole truth, and therefore truth disclosure is an essential part of breaking bad news. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press.
- Miller, Elizabeth, Porter, Joanne, Barbagallo, Michael
- Authors: Miller, Elizabeth , Porter, Joanne , Barbagallo, Michael
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Health Environments Research and Design Journal Vol. 15, no. 1 (2022), p. 268-291
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Aim: To review the latest qualitative literature on how the physical hospital environment affects palliative patients and their families. Background: People with a life-limiting illness may receive palliative care to improve their quality of life in hospital and may have multiple admissions as their illness progresses. Yet, despite a preference for a death at home, more than half of the dying population will receive end-of-life care in hospital. The physical hospital environment consists of ambiance, aesthetics, and architectural factors, and it is well known that the hospital’s acute wards are not a homely environment. Demand is increasing for the physical environment to be improved to better meet the needs and demands of palliative and end-of-life patients and their families. Method: Combining thematic analysis and meta-ethnography methodologies, 12 international qualitative papers were analyzed and synthesized by the three authors. Results: Findings resulted in the development of the SSAFeR Place approach that incorporates the concepts that are important to palliative and end-of-life patients and their families by describing an environment within the acute or palliative care units that feels safe, is private, customizable, and accommodates family; is a space to share with others, is homelike in ambiance and aesthetics, and is conducive for reflection. The concepts of identity, belonging, and safety are connected to the notions of home. Conclusions: To provide person-centered care and to move the focus toward the palliative approach of comfort and quality of life, attention to room size, layout, aesthetics, and ambiance is needed. © The Author(s) 2021.
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