Community palliative care programs typically include one or more of the following characteristics:

1. Care delivered primarily outside of hospital or inpatient hospice settings, in environments that are:
• Closer to the patient's everyday life, and therefore potentially more accessible and emotionally reassuring.
• Relatively "low-tech", which may contribute to lower overall healthcare costs

2. A strong emphasis on respecting patient autonomy and decision-making capacity.

3. Development established in the active involvement of patients and local communities.

4. Significant reliance on informal social networks, activating non-medical supports that enhance quality of life - such as:
• Compassionate and practical daily assistance.
• Vigilant presence and emotional support.
• Culturally sensitive solutions tailored to the strengths and limitations of the local context.

Community-based and home-based palliative care services, often supported by primary care teams, are gaining popularity. A major challenge in these models is ensuring timely initiation of care, which requires sufficiently accurate predictions about a patient's proximity to death.

See reference for more information.

Adapted from Petrova M, et al. Timely community palliative and end-of-life care: a realist synthesis. Internet. Available at BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2021. Accessed on July 2, 2025.