Objectives: To describe the characteristics of Western Australian (WA) people who received,
and did not receive, specialist palliative care (SPC) during their last 12 months of life.
Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting and participants: People who died between 1
July 2000 and 31 December 2002 in WA, and whose cause of death was from cancer or
selected non-cancer conditions. Main outcome measures: Use of SPC in the last 12 months
of life. Results: There were 27 971 deaths from all causes in WA over the study period. Two …

Our research describes the provision of palliative care services at a time of transition.
Typically, palliative care has offered a holistic, non-curative focus with an emphasis on
improving the quality of life of people with life-limiting conditions. Traditionally it has aimed to
improve the conditions of people who were dying of cancer. Palliative care now seeks to
extend a holistic, team-based and family-centred approach to people with other life-limiting
conditions. Until now the degree to which this aim was reflected in the actual provision of …