Home Based Palliative Care for Underserved Populations: A Case Report.

1. Recognize that patients with life limiting illness often face physical, social, and economical burdens and Home Based Palliative care can help patients and their families with their end-of-life care. 2. Understand that research on how hospice and palliative care professionals can deliver high quality, culturally sensitive person-centered care to underserved patients is lacking. Many people with terminal illnesses face physical and psychosocial symptoms which prohibit them from leaving their homes and limit their ability to access high quality healthcare. Home Based Palliative Care (HBPalC) is an emerging program that improves healthcare outcomes and has tremendous value to patients and their families. However, research on how HBPalC can benefit underserved populations is lacking. Millions of people who have terminal illnesses face physical and psychosocial symptoms which prohibit them from leaving their homes and limit their ability to gain access to high quality healthcare. Home Based Palliative Care (HBPalC) is an emerging service that improves healthcare outcomes and reduces healthcare costs. Research is lacking on the true impact of HBPalC on the underserved population. We describe a case of a 55-year-old Hispanic nonsmoker female who presented to the hospital in May 2023 with back pain and a cough. She was diagnosed with primary adenocarcinoma of the lung with metastasis to the bone. She was referred to our HBPalC team for severe and debilitating cancer related back pain. The patient is widowed with four children that range from ages 19 to 31. She is a housekeeper but is unable to work due to her severe back pain and relies on her children for financial support. Our HBPalC team has not only helped with her pain, but also made it easier for her to access cost effective healthcare directly in her home. Furthermore, our social worder was able to provide resources for her to join a Hispanic based support group for those with cancer. During our encounters, she expresses gratitude for our home-based services as she faces severe symptom burden along with social and economic hardships. This case highlights one of many underserved patients who is homebound due to a terminal diagnosis. The emerging multidisciplinary team of HBPalC has enormous value to patients and their families. It improves patient satisfaction by allowing them to spend more time at home and reduces their healthcare costs. HBPalC can provide underserved patients who have less functional ability with practical assistance, those with the most serious illness with emotional and spiritual support, and those lacking adequate finances with social services. Models of Palliative Care Delivery; Interdisciplinary Teamwork / Professionalism [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]