Increasing evidence suggests that families wish to remain at home towards their child’s end of life (EOL). But there are few published research studies on models of home-based EOL care for children to help guide service delivery. In response to this paucity of evidence, Malcolm and Knighting (2022) undertook a realist evaluation to address the question, “What are the components of home-based EOL care services that work, for whom, how, in what circumstances and why?” A program theory, including five components describing how and why the service works to deliver effective home-based EOL care, was developed, tested, and refined. The findings of this study help to highlight components of the service that lead to success as well as identify opportunities for improvement. The program theory provides a structure to guide other organizations in developing home-based EOL services for children. Read more…
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