Table 2

End-of-life themes from palliative care providers

Themes and associated concepts	N*	Respondents mentioning theme (%)	Formulated concept mentioned within all those for that theme (%)
Addressing the non-physical needs	59	55
Holistic care—spiritual, emotional and physical	23		26
Patient is supported	21		24
Patient is treated with respect	16		18
Patient is treated with dignity	14		16
Patient is in the presence of loved ones	7		8
Care aligns with the patient’s cultural and religious beliefs	4		5
Patient is safe	3		3
Healthcare teams’ nature of palliative care delivery	56	52
Accessible and provides timely care	17		19
Provides compassionate care	15		16
Collaborative	14		15
Knowledgeable and skilled	13		14
Provides high-quality care	12		13
Educates and provides information and resources	8		9
Provides continuity of care	5		5
Takes action and ownership for the patient	5		5
Involved early in the patient’s journey	2		2
Patient's wishes are honoured	55	51
Patient's wishes are fulfilled	49		64
Death in a place of choice	19		25
Availability of residence hospice	8		11
Addressing the physical needs	50	47
Pain and symptom management	37		63
Patient is comfortable	22		37
Preparing for and accepting death	41	38
Healthcare team assists in emotionally preparing patient for a peaceful death	21		44
Creating an end-of-life care plan	9		19
Communicating expectations so that patients and families are prepared	7		15
Focus on living/quality of remaining days	5		10
Patients have hope that their remaining days will be good	5		10
Planning for the legal aspects of death	1		2
Communication and relationship development	39	36
Healthcare team communicates openly and in a timely manner	14		26
Healthcare team listens to patient needs, feelings and experiences	11		21
Relationship/bond formed between healthcare providers and patient	11		21
Patient and families trust the healthcare team	6		11
Patient knows help is available and who to contact	6		11
Healthcare team creates options and choices for the patient and family	3		6
Healthcare team is honest to patients and families	2		4
Involving and supporting the family	38	36
Family needs are supported	25		63
Family inclusive care	15		38
Understanding the patient and family experience	15	14
How the journey was experienced for the patient and family	11		73
Patient experienced good outcomes/death	4		27
Society and the health system have a culture of supporting palliative care	7	7
Creating the normalcy of palliative care	4		57
Palliative care valued by the healthcare system	3		43

*N=number of unique participants citing the theme. Participants may have indicated multiple concepts within a theme.