Ms Maree Montgomery1, Maxwell Nixon2, Amanda McDonald3, Associate Professor Elyce Green4
1Murrumbidgee Local Health District-palliative Care, Wagga Wagga, Australia, 2Murrumbidgee Local Health District-palliative Care, Wagga Wagga, Australia, 3Murrumbidgee Local Health District-palliative Care, Wagga Wagga, Australia, 4Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia
Biography:
Maree (Monty) Montgomery is a passionate advocate for equitable, inclusive healthcare—particularly in rural and remote communities with a strong focus on Compassionate Communities and Palliative care Navigators, service redesign and system improvement.
Amanda McDonald 20 plus years’ experience in health administration and project work including managing PCOC and Synaptix palliative care data systems. Currently Enhancing end of Life Palliative Care and PREM’s Project Officer
Background:
Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) are widely used to capture service-user feedback and support person-centred care. While their use is well established in inpatient palliative care, there is no standardised approach for collecting PREMs in community palliative care settings.
Aim:
This study evaluated the implementation of the consideRATE PREM tool in a rural Australian community palliative care service to explore its use in capturing patient and carer experiences.
Design:
A cross-sectional study was conducted using the consideRATE tool at two time points (4 and 12 weeks post-registration with the service). Surveys were completed either digitally or verbally, and open-ended responses were analysed using conventional content analysis.
Participants:
Of 322 eligible community members, 77 participated (24% response rate), including 50 patients and 27 carers. Nine participants completed surveys at both time points.
Results:
Survey items received high satisfaction ratings, with all mean scores above 3.5 out of 4. Two key themes from the open-ended survey questions were identified: Professional engagement capabilities and Respectful and individualised care. Some survey items required adaptation for use in this context, particularly regarding home environments and expectations around end-of-life care.
Conclusions:
The consideRATE tool effectively captured patient experiences in a rural community palliative care setting. Conducting the survey verbally enabled connection with service-users and their carers and provided feedback that extended on survey items. This preliminary exploration supports the contextual adaptation of consideRATE for community use and highlights the importance of relational care in community palliative care services.