Responding to urgency of need: Initial qualitative stage in the development of a triage tool for use in palliative care services

Abstract

Background: Palliative care services face the challenge of a workload increasing in volume and diversity. An evidence-based triage method to assess urgency of palliative care needs is required to ensure equitable, efficient and transparent allocation of specialist resources when managing waiting lists. Aim: As the initial stage of a mixed-method sequential design, this study aimed to explore palliative care providers’ practices and attitudes towards triaging palliative care needs and their views regarding the implementation of a standardised approach. Design: A qualitative study was conducted involving focus groups and interviews. Transcripts were subjected to deductive thematic analysis. Se..