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What Shapes Family Physicians' Patterns Of Care For Community Patients At End Of Life?, Joshua D. Shadd

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Family physicians (FPs) care for the majority of community patients approaching end of life. Variations among FPs in care activities for these patients have potential implications for equitable access to care. This thesis used mixed methods to explore how FPs in southwestern Ontario, Canada care for these patients, and what shapes the variations. In the primary study, using grounded theory based on in-depth interviews, FPs reported differing in the timing, location and purpose of their activities. These variations were shaped by a process of ‘making it fit’, in which FPs weighed the implications of choices in their unique contexts. In …