Abstract

Introduction: Palliative care (PC) is a growing field of healthcare that originated from chronic diseases such as cancer (Crimmins, Elliott, & Absher, 2021). Among chronic diseases, heart failure (HF) is a chronic disease that affects the heart and its ability to function effectively. The toll on HF patients and informal caregivers is significant making them eligible for PC. This research will explore the question: What are the barriers and facilitators to the effective delivery of palliative care to heart failure patients, through the perspectives of patients and informal caregivers?

Methods: This study aims to identify major barriers and facilitators impacting the access to PC for HF patients using a systematic review. Ten articles about PC and HF were included and analyzed within the review. Common themes were identified among these articles and grouped to discuss barriers and facilitators issues regarding PC access for HF patients and to explore the evidence in understanding what can be proposed to enhance access and delivery of PC for patients and informal caregivers.

Results: After reviewing the articles, preliminary findings suggest that the burdens of HF among patients and caregivers make PC a highly favourable method of care. Despite this, barriers to PC delivery for HF patients have been identified. These barriers include misconceptions of PC, lack of communication about PC to patients, and a lack of PC resources leading to late referrals have been identified as the top barriers to PC delivery.

Discussion: The significance of identifying these barriers will allow us to propose ways to resolve the barriers using identified facilitators to improve access to PC. Ways to improve access includes increasing education among physicians and healthcare providers to having a conversation about PC with all HF patients. Furthermore, awareness and education of PC needs to be increased among patients and caregivers to reduce the stigma and misunderstandings of PC.