Home-Based Palliative Care

Palliative care in the home (i.e., outside of the hospital where people live) focuses on providing palliative care through established delivery systems, such as home care and hospice, as well as collaborative partnerships with service agencies and individual clinicians. The goal is to maintain a person’s life at home or place of residence by maximizing quality of life, optimizing function, and providing care that supports their goals and preferences.

People may need palliative care at home if they:

• Don’t meet criteria for hospital admission, yet need support
• Don't meet the criteria for hospice
• Are frail and elderly and want to stay out of the hospital
• Have a child with a serious illness and chronic care needs that negatively impacts quality of life

To fully develop the support systems and partnerships necessary to deliver this level of care in the home setting, it takes needs assessment, planning, development, and implementation.

Both palliative care specialists and nonpalliative care clinicians can access CAPC training and technical assistance through our evidence-based online courses, curated tools drawn from best practices, and virtual events with nationally recognized faculty.

• Toolkit for designing a home-based palliative care program
• Concepts of Community-Based Palliative Care Program Design 101 self-directed learning activity
• Virtual events, including Webinars and Virtual Office Hours
• Palliative Care in the Home: A Guide to Program Design