Status of the contents of the community palliative care services in Shanghai

Objective To improve the community palliative care services by analyzing the current status of the contents of palliative care services that have been carried out in community health service centers (CHSC). Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews to key palliative care executives in 10 CHSC of palliative care pilot units in Shanghai through the method of judgment sampling from March 2017 to April 2017. The outline for the interview was developed through the way of literature review. The contents of the interview included the basic situation of interviewees and their workplace, and the contents of palliative care services carried out in the unit of interviewees. The results of the interviews were coded, analyzed, and converted into descriptive language. The proportions of palliative care services carried out in CHSC were analyzed by the frequency method. Results The palliative care services carried out in 10 CHSC could be divide into the identical five categories: early screening, positive evaluation, physiological support, psychological support and social support. Fifty-six service contents were carried out in 10 CHSC, of which 41 contents had been carried out in all 10 communities, and others were currently only being carried out in some CHSC. There were many differences in service connotation for the same service contents that carried out in each CHSC. Conclusion For the palliative care services carried out in CHSC in Shanghai, its categories are complete, its contents reflect the current situation of palliative care in Shanghai but are different from the ones in the current national regulatory documents. The differences in the service content of the pilot units suggest that the CHSC should further improve its service ability, service standardization and legal protection of palliative care services.