The experiences of patients with advanced cancer and caregivers presenting to Emergency Departments: A qualitative study

Background:Despite being a common event in the course of an advanced cancer illness, there is little understanding of patients’ perceptions of hospital Emergency Department presentations.Aim:To explore the experiences and perceptions of Emergency Departments held by patients with advanced cancer and their informal caregivers.Design:Cross-sectional study involving semi-structured interviews with advanced cancer patients and their informal caregivers. Qualitative data analysis was underpinned by a phenomenological approach utilising a data-driven inductive thematic frame.Setting/participants:In total, 19 patients with advanced cancer who presented to Emergency Departments in the previous 6 months and 10 informal caregivers from an Australian public hospital and community palliative care service were interviewed.Results:Patients reported that Emergency Department presentations were largely prompted by worsening symptoms or were a means to expedite hospital admission, with many instructed to attend by their h...