Background: Older people living with multimorbidity are projected to become the main recipients of palliative care in the coming decades, yet there is limited evidence regarding their expressed palliative care needs to inform person-centred care.
Aim: To understand the palliative care needs of community-dwelling people aged ⩾60 living with multimorbidity in the last 2 years of life.
Design: A scoping review following Arksey and O'Malley.
Data sources: Three international electronic databases (CINAHL, Ovid Medline, PsycINFO) were searched from March 2018 to December 2021. Reference lists were hand searched. Eligible papers were those reporting empirical data on older people's needs.
Results: From 985 potential papers, 28 studies were included, published between 2002 and 2020; sixteen quantitative, nine qualitative and three mixed methods. Data were extracted and presented under the holistic palliative care domains of need: physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and additionally practical needs. Different measurement tools (n = 29) were used, of which 20 were multidimensional. Primacy in reporting was given to physical needs, most commonly pain and function. Social and practical needs were often prioritised by older people themselves, including maintaining social connections and accessing and receiving individualised care.
Conclusion: Identifying the palliative care needs that matter most to older people with multimorbidity requires the recognition of their concerns, as well as their symptoms, across a continuum of living and dying. Available evidence is superficial. Supporting end of life provision for this growing and underserved population necessitates a shift to tailored multidimensional tools and community focussed integrated care services.
Keywords: Aged; frailty; multimorbidity; needs assessment; terminal care.