Lay summary
International evidence suggests people who are homeless and vulnerably housed often experience unmet palliative care needs at end of life. We have collated a large dataset of health and service care use among people who have died between 2013-2020 under the care of Auckland District Health Board. Working with the Auckland City Mission, we will analyse these data to identify people who are homeless or vulnerably housed. We will focus in particular on access to specialist (hospice) and generalist (GP/hospital) palliative care in the last year of life and place of death. These findings will be presented to the City Mission consumer group and City Mission staff as a basis for developing a collaborative research project to identify strategies to improve palliative care for people who are homeless and vulnerably housed. Te Ārai kaumātua will provide project guidance and Māori researcher Dr Melissa Carey will lead consultation with Māori clients/staff.