Table 4.

Synthesized finding 3

Findings	Categories	Synthesized finding
Challenge of managing prevailing symptoms (U)	Challenge of managing prevailing symptoms of breathlessness and fatigue	Older persons receiving palliative care in the community face major challenges managing prevailing symptoms, medication management difficulties, and costs of medical care and equipment.
Not able to determine the frequency, severity or how much a symptom bothered them (U)
Breathlessness and fatigue are also associated with other chronic illnesses making differentiation of symptoms difficult if not impossible (U)
How men manage increasing breathlessness (U)
Inability to judge when to call the health care providers (U)
In spite of frequent hospitalizations and a limited quality of life, allowing for a natural death is unthinkable in the presence of breathlessness (U)
Regardless of the availability of medications and equipment to support management of breathlessness at home, men found it difficult to do what they considered “nothing” (U)
Medication management is left to the men to order, organize and take at the correct times. Medication difficulties abound (U)	Medication management difficulties
As a man becomes more impaired by fatigue and breathlessness, the caregiver, family member or the nurse from the palliative care team begins to fill medication boxes (U)
Difficulties in dealing with the high costs of medical equipment (U)	Difficulties with cost of medical care and equipment
Delays in calling 911 … A 911 call resulted in costs which caused them to rethink when to call for assistance (U)

U, unequivocal.