Perceptions of Palliative Care Program Viability During the Pandemic (SA305D).

Outcomes: 1. Summarize and discuss the primary factors driving palliative care program viability in the context of a global pandemic 2. Identify strategies and methods that can empower and support palliative care leaders to sustain and strengthen the programs they lead During the pandemic, US palliative care teams have provided direct care to patients with COVID-19; support for caregivers and families; peer support; and guidance to other clinicians in communication skills, symptom management, and coping with loss. However, the authors were concerned about a potential national trend around palliative care program viability given workforce reallocation, the financial strain on healthcare systems due to the pandemic, and historic operational challenges documented for palliative care teams. Two national Field Surveys were developed and distributed to 1,430 palliative care leaders across the country in May 2020 and January 2021 to ask whether leaders were concerned about the future viability of the programs they lead. The 440 responses were pooled, and the data were analyzed using directed content analysis to identify codes and synthesize emergent themes. Seventy-two percent of responding palliative care leaders indicated that they were not concerned for the future viability of their program or service. Instead, these leaders cited strong leadership buy-in; their highly valued provision of support to colleagues; and the pandemic's positive impact on their services' visibility, perceived value, and utilization. Among the 27.7% of respondents concerned about viability, lack of organizational support, lack of understanding about palliative care services, negative financial consequences of the pandemic, and significant staff burnout were key themes. Both groups reported concerns about staffing. These COVID Field Surveys provide insights about factors driving palliative care program viability from the perspective of program leaders during a global pandemic. Resources and technical assistance designed to empower and support palliative care team leaders are necessary to sustain and strengthen programs, including organizational relationship-building; rejuvenation of the value case to reinforce the impact of specialty palliative care services on patients, families, referring clinicians, and health care organizations; and attention to critical workforce investments through national and local policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]