A state-of-the-art review of community-based palliative care services in rural areas of Southern Minnesota and the United States.

Background: This state-of-the-art (SOTA) review aimed to understand the historical, current and future of rural community palliative care services (PCS) with a primary focus in rural southern Minnesota communities and the United States.

Methods: This review followed the six step SOTA systematic review process described by Barry et al (2022) and examined articles from 2010-2023 regarding rural PCS.

Results: Historical and current research consistently supported the benefits of PCS and reported the top facilitators as a clear definition of palliative care and PCS. The top barriers included a lack service provision, funding/resources, national policies/regulation, and shortages of trained providers in rural communities.

Conclusions: Barriers to the provision of PCS have not improved based on this review in rural areas and must be addressed to reduce healthcare disparities for rural populations.