Insights From Health Care Professionals Regarding Palliative Care Options on South Dakota Reservations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2015

Keywords

palliative care, health disparities, clinical areas, cultural groups

Abstract

Purpose: Palliative care options are limited for Native Americans (NA) in South Dakota (SD). This exploratory study offers the perspectives of Native and non-Native health care professionals regarding palliative care specific to NAs.
Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted (N = 7) with participants representing NA (4) and non-Native (3) ethnicities. Non-Native participants were practicing health care professionals in palliative medicine, whereas the NA health care professionals had experience with palliative care.
Findings: Concept analysis revealed two main themes and five subthemes: (a) barriers to palliative care, for example, insufficient funding, lack of infrastructure, and misconceptions; and (b) implementation strategies, for example, openness and listening and creating the right team.
Discussion: Genuine interest and concern exists for the provision of palliative care to NA communities using collaborative and innovative approaches.
Implications: To address the health disparities of the NA population specific to palliative care, public health policy reform and education for health professionals are necessary.

Publication Title

Journal of Transcultural Nursing

Volume

26

Issue

5

First Page

473

Last Page

479

DOI of Published Version

10.1177/1043659614527623

Publisher

Sage Journals

Comments

PMID: 24829262

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