How continuity of care is experienced within the context of integrated palliative care: A qualitative study with patients and family caregivers in five European countries

Factors related to satisfaction of cancer patients with transfer arrangements made by university hospitals at the end-of-life in Japan: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of bereaved family members

PURPOSE

Cancer patients in university hospitals often face a difficult decision regarding transfer to other care settings at the end-of-life. Arrangements for a satisfying transfer are important for reducing the psychosocial impact of the transition, but few studies have evaluated this aspect. This study aimed to identify factors related to the satisfying arrangement of transfers to other care settings from university hospitals.

METHODS

A total of 400 bereaved family members of cancer patients in Japan participated in this cross-sectional web-based questionnaire survey. Statistical methods including decision tree analysis were conducted to identify factors significantly associated with satisfying transfer arrangements.

RESULTS

More than 60% of cancer patients were satisfied with the transfer arrangements made by university hospitals. Decision tree analysis revealed that the factor most significantly associated with satisfaction with transfer arrangements was "satisfaction with contents of the explanation about transfer." The following significant factors were also extracted: "timing of being informed of transfer," "presence of primary care physician," and "presence of trustworthy staff." "Satisfaction with overall care from university hospital staff" and "involvement of palliative care team" were identified as factors contributing to a high degree of satisfaction with transfer arrangements.

CONCLUSION

In order to make satisfying transfer arrangements from university hospitals for cancer patients at the end-of-life, healthcare professionals should provide satisfactory explanations about the transfer process in order to meet the information needs of patients. To be effective, healthcare professionals should initiate transfer arrangements prior to cancer treatment, while simultaneously building trusting relationships with patients.

Physicians' perspectives on estimating and communicating prognosis in palliative care: a cross-sectional survey

Background

Advance care planning (ACP) can help to enhance the care of patients with limited life expectancy. Despite physicians’ key role in ACP, the ways in which physicians estimate and communicate prognosis can be improved.

Aim

To determine how physicians in different care settings self-assess their performance in estimating and communicating prognosis to patients in palliative care, and how they perceive their communication with other physicians about patients’ poor prognosis.

Design & setting

A survey study was performed among a random sample of GPs, hospital physicians (HPs), and nursing home physicians (NHPs) in the southwest of the Netherlands (n = 2212).

Method

A questionnaire was developed that had three versions for GPs, HPs, and NHPs. Each specialism filled in an appropriate version.

Results

A total of 547 physicians participated: 259 GPs, 205 HPs, and 83 NHPs. In the study, 61.1% of physicians indicated being able to adequately estimate whether a patient will die within 1 year, which was associated with use of the Surprise Question (odds ratio [OR] = 1.65, P = 0.042). In the case of a prognosis of <1 year, 75.0% of physicians indicated that they communicate with patients about preferences regarding treatment and care, which was associated with physicians being trained in palliative care (OR = 2.02, P=0.007). In cases where patients with poor prognosis are discharged after hospital admission, 83.4% of HPs indicated that they inform GPs about these patients’ preferences compared with 29.0% of GPs, and 21.7% of NHPs, who indicated that they are usually adequately informed about the preferences.

Conclusion

The majority of physicians indicated that they believe they can adequately estimate patients’ limited life expectancy and that they discuss patients’ preferences for care. However, more physicians should be trained in communicating about patients’ poor prognosis and care preferences.

Experiences of caregiving and quality of healthcare among caregivers of patients with complex chronic processes: A qualitative study

Aim To explore the perceptions of main caregivers regarding caring for chronic complex patients in two different regions of Spain.

BACKGROUND

Spain is a country with an ageing population and a high number of people with chronic diseases. It is well known that the role of the caregiver is important to ensure quality of life and appropriate care.

METHODS

Qualitative design using focus groups. Five focus groups, from two different regions, were conducted with 22 caregivers of people with chronic complex diseases to explore their personal experience, examine the quality of care received by the patient and their family and to develop strategies for the improvement of the quality of health care. The focus groups were audio and video recorded. The transcriptions of the focus group sessions were exported to qualitative software analysis MAXQDA 2018.2. The qualitative content analysis was based on different analytical cycles.

RESULTS

In general terms, caregivers would refer to accepting the care of their family members, but they highlight many negative aspects such as tiredness, lack of help and overload of care. They indicated general satisfaction with the health system but indicated that help was insufficient and that strategies to better address the situations of the complex chronic patient should be improved. The main categories observed were: Conclusions. Complex chronic illnesses are increasingly common at present, generating important consequences on the lives of patients and that of their caregivers. The design of any health strategy for facing the dilemma of chronic illnesses, must necessarily include the vision of the caregivers.

The Over 75 Service: Continuity of Integrated Care for Older People in a United Kingdom Primary Care Setting

Continuity of care is concerned with quality of care over a period of time. It describes a process by which service users and their families are co-operatively involved with health and social care professionals in managing their care needs. Continuity of care can be divided into informational, managerial and relational and has been associated with improved user- and service-related outcomes. To date, there have been few studies which examine how continuity of care is developed and maintained in integrated primary care systems. This paper explores continuity of care in an integrated Over 75 Service for people living at home with complex health and social care needs. Using a case study approach, qualitative data was collected from multiple sources including interviews with managers and professionals, users and carers, care plans, steering group minutes and field notes. Data was analysed thematically. A number of factors are identified which characterise continuity of care, namely: information sharing through direct communication between providers and the development of trusted relationships within the team; identified care co-ordinators who acted as a conduit for information and communication; the development of ongoing relationships with users and carers requiring dedicated time and accessible and flexible services delivered in the users’ own home.

Living with Advanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Qualitative Interview Study with Patients and Informal Carers

The disease trajectory in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by a progressive decline in overall function, loss of independence and reduction of health-related quality of life. Although the symptom burden is high and care is often demanding, patients' and informal carers' experiences in living with advanced COPD are seldom described. This study sought to explore patients' and informal carers' experiences in living with advanced COPD and to understand their awareness about palliative care provision in advanced COPD. About 20 patients and 20 informal carers were recruited in a respiratory care service in Southern Switzerland. Semistructured individual interviews with participants were conducted on clinic premises and audio-recorded. Interviews lasted between 35 and 45 min. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Living day to day with COPD, psychosocial dimension of the disease and management of complex care were the main themes identified. Patients and informal carers reported a range of psychological challenges, with feelings of guilt, discrimination and blame. Most of the participants had no knowledge of palliative care and healthcare services did not provide them with any information about palliative care approaches in advanced COPD. The reported psychological challenges may influence the relationship between patients, informal carers and healthcare professionals, adding further complexity to the management of this long-term condition. Further research is needed to explore new ways of managing complex care in advanced COPD and to define how palliative care may be included in this complex care network.

Disseminating research findings using a massive online open course for maximising impact and developing recommendations for practice

Background

Developing recommendations for how we deliver healthcare is often left to leading experts in a field. Findings from the Integrated Palliative Care in cancer and chronic conditions (InSup-C) study, which aimed to identify best practice in integrated palliative care in cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure, led to recommendations developed through an expert consultation process. We also wanted to develop these recommendations further with participants who were largely clinicians and members of the public.

Methods

Results from the InSup-C study were disseminated through a three-week massive open online course (MOOC) which ran in 2016, 2017 and 2019. The first course helped develop the final recommendations, which were ranked by MOOC participants in the subsequent courses. MOOC participants were predominantly clinicians, but also academics and members of the public. They rated how important each recommendation was on a 9 point scale (9 most important). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the ratings. The results were compared to findings from the consultation.

Results

Five hundred fifteen completed the last part of the course where the recommendations were ranked, of which 195 (38%) completed the ratings. The top recommendations related to: need to expand palliative care to non-malignant conditions; palliative care needs to include different dimensions of care including physical, psychological and spiritual; policies and regulations assessments should be made regularly; palliative care integration should be mandatory; and there should be greater availability of medicines. These differed compared to the top ranked recommendations by the consultation panel in relation to the importance of leadership and policy making. This may indicate that clinicians are more focused on daily care rather than the (inter) national agenda.

Conclusions

Whilst both sets of recommendations are important, our study shows that we need to include the views of clinicians and the public rather than rely upon leading expert opinion alone. To keep recommendations fresh we need both the input of clinicians, the public and experts. When disseminating findings, MOOCs offer a useful way to gain greater reach with clinicians and the public, and importantly could be a vehicle to validate recommendations made by leading expert panels.

Health practices in Europe towards families of older patients with cancer: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

In Europe, cancer is one of the predominant causes of mortality and morbidity among older people aged over 65. A diagnosis of cancer can imply a negative impact on the quality of life of the older patients and their families. Despite research examining the impact of cancer on the family, it is unclear what kind of information is available about the types of clinical practice towards older patients with cancer and their families. The aim is to determine the extent, range and variety of research in Europe describing health practices towards families of older patients with cancer and to identify any existing gaps in knowledge.

METHODS

Scoping review.

RESULTS

A total of 12 articles were included, showing that family interventions are generally based on end-of-life care. Most studies used a qualitative approach and involved different types of family member as participants. Most studies were conducted in the UK.

CONCLUSIONS

Review findings revealed limited knowledge about health practices in Europe towards families with an older patient with cancer. This review indicates a need to increase family-focused research that examines health practices that meet the needs of families of older patients with cancer. Seeing cancer as a chronic disease, there is an urgent need for the implementation of family-focused interventions.

A sense of security in palliative homecare in a Norwegian municipality; dyadic comparisons of the perceptions of patients and relatives - a quantitative study

BACKGROUND

As palliative care increasingly takes place in patients' homes, perceptions of security among patients in the late palliative phase and their relatives are important.

AIM

To describe and compare patient-relative dyads regarding their perceptions of security in palliative homecare, including the perceived security of the actual care given to the patients, as well as the subjective importance of that care.

METHODS

A cross sectional questionnaire study including 32 patient-relative dyads was conducted in an urban municipality in Norway. Patients were in a late palliative phase and received palliative homecare. Each patient proposed one relative. Data were collected using a modified version of the Quality from the Patients' Perspective instrument (QPP), which focuses on security and comprises three dimensions: medical-technical competence, identity-orientation approach and physical-technical conditions. Context-specific scales containing four aspects (competence, continuity, coordination/cooperation, availability) were added. The instrument contains two response scales; perceived reality (PR) and subjective importance (SI). Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, Chi-squared test, T-test and Wilcoxon's signed rank test.

RESULTS

Patients had high mean scores on the PR-scale for the sense of security in palliative homecare in the dimensions of medical-technical competence and physical-technical conditions. There were three low mean scores on the PR-scale: the aspect of continuity from patients and the aspects of continuity and coordination/cooperation from relatives. The patients scored the SI scale statistically significantly higher than the PR scale in the identity-orientation approach dimension and in the aspect of continuity, while relatives did so in all dimensions and aspects. The intra-dyadic patient-relative comparisons show statistically significant lower scores from relatives on the PR-scale in the dimensions of medical-technical competence, physical-technical conditions, identity-orientation approach and the aspect coordination/cooperation.

CONCLUSIONS

There are several statistically significant differences between patients and relatives' perceptions of security in the palliative homecare received (PR) compared with the subjective importance of the care (SI) and statistically significant differences in the patient-relative dyads in PR. A relatively mutual sense of security in palliative homecare is important for patient-relative dyads, as relatives often provide care and act as patients' spokespersons. What they assess as important can guide the development of palliative homecare.

Family members' experiences of care of the dying in residential care homes where the Liverpool Care Pathway was used

BACKGROUND

Residential care homes (RCHs) are increasingly becoming a common place of death for older people.

AIM

The aim of this study was to describe family members' experiences of care of the dying in RCHs where the Liverpool care pathway for the dying patient was used.

METHODS

This study had a descriptive qualitative study design. Fifteen (n=15) individual interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

The analysis resulted in three themes: being confident in a familiar and warm atmosphere, being involved vs not being involved in end-of-life (EoL) care, and being consoled by witnessing the health professional's endeavour to relieve suffering.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

The results indicated that taking part in a care plan seems to increase family members' feelings of involvement in EoL care. This study also highlights the family members' needs for increased possibilities for EoL discussions with the GP.

End-of-life care in rural general practice: how best to support commitment and meet challenges?

BACKGROUND

Few studies have specifically assessed the scope, nature and challenges of palliative and end-of-life care in rural general practice. These knowledge gaps limit the development of evidence-based policies and services for patients in the last months of life. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of general practitioners (GPs) and other stakeholders on rural GPs' involvement and challenges in providing palliative and end-of-life care in regional Australia.

METHODS

A qualitative study involving five focus groups with 26 GPs based in rural/regional Western Australia together with 15 individual telephone interviews with four GPs and 11 other stakeholders involved in end-of-life care across Australia.

RESULTS

The rural GPs' central role in end-of-life care was recognized by the majority of participants but multiple challenges were also identified. Some challenges were comparable to those found in urban settings but others were more pronounced, including resource limitations and lack of training. Inappropriate payment models discouraged GPs' involvement in some aspects of end-of-life care, such as case conferences and home visits. Compared to GPs in urban settings, those in rural/regional communities often reported closer doctor-patient relationships and better care integration and collaboration. These positive aspects of care could be further developed to enhance service provision. Our study highlighted the importance of regular interactions with other professionals and patients in providing end-of-life care, but many GPs and other stakeholders found such interactions more challenging than the more "technical" aspects of care.

CONCLUSIONS

Rural/regional GPs appear to be disproportionately affected by inappropriate payment models and limited resources, but may benefit from closer doctor-patient relationships and better care integration and collaboration relative to urban GPs. Systematic collection of empirical data on GP management at end-of-life is required to build on these strengths and address the challenges.

Recommendations on priorities for integrated palliative care: transparent expert consultation with international leaders for the InSuP-C project

BACKGROUND

The World Health Organisation (WHO) endorses integrated palliative care which has a significant impact on quality of life and satisfaction with care. Effective integration between hospices, palliative care services, hospitals and primary care services are required to support patients with palliative care needs. Studies have indicated that little is known about which aspects are regarded as most important and should be priorities for international implementation. The Integrated Palliative Care in cancer and chronic conditions (InSup-C) project, aimed to investigate integrated practices in Europe and to formulate requirements for effective palliative care integration. It aimed to develop recommendations, and to agree priorities, for integrated palliative care linked to the InSuP-C project.

METHODS

Transparent expert consultation was adopted at the approach used. Data were collected in two phases: 1) international transparent expert consultation using face-to-face roundtable discussions at a one day workshop in Brussels, and 2) via subsequent online cross-sectional survey where items were rated to indicate degree of agreement on their importance and ranked to indicate priority for implementation. Workshop discussions used content analysis to develop a list of 23 recommendations, which formed the survey questionnaire. Survey analysis used descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis of open responses.

RESULTS

Thirty-six international experts in palliative care and cancer care, including senior clinicians, researchers, leaders of relevant international organisations and funders, were invited to a face-to-face workshop. Data were collected from 33 (19 men, 14 women), 3 declined. They mostly came from European countries (31), USA (1) and Australia (1). Twenty one of them also completed the subsequent online survey (response rate 63%). We generated 23 written statements that were grouped into the organisational constructs: macro (10), meso (6) and micro (7) levels of integration of palliative care. Highest priority recommendations refer to education, leadership and policy-making, medium priority recommendations focused on funding and relationship-building, and lower priority recommendations related to improving systems and infrastructure.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that amongst a group of international experts there was overall good agreement on the importance of recommendations for integrated palliative care. Understanding expert's priorities is important and can guide practice, policymaking and future research.

Competence and Compassion: Key Elements of Professional Care at the End of Life From Caregiver's Perspective

In the act of caring for and helping people in the end-of-life process, the professional who provides care and assistance must know how to maintain a relationship of closeness, empathy, and compassion for the pain and suffering of the person who is going to die. The objective was to understand, elaborate on, and characterize the key elements of end-of-life care of patients from a caregiver's perspective through a qualitative phenomenological multicenter study. Participants were caregivers who had lost a family member at least 2 months but less than 2 years in the past. The techniques used were 5 discussion groups and 41 in-depth interviews, which included a total of 81 participants. To analyze the information, a protocol developed by Giorgi was followed. Two dimensions or units of meaning, with subdimensions, emerged: (1) Technical competence, with the subdimensions "Control of symptoms" and "Continuity of care," and (2) Compassion, with the subdimensions "Effective/affective communication," "Attitudes of kindness and closeness toward the patient and the family," and "Generosity and personalized flexibility of care." Assistance at the end of life requires the proper preparation of professionals who care for these patients, in addition to a compassionate attitude on the part of professionals and the people accompanying the dying person, that fosters a more humanized and dignified treatment in the dying process.

Integrated palliative care is about professional networking rather than standardisation of care: A qualitative study with healthcare professionals in 19 integrated palliative care initiatives in five European countries

BACKGROUND:

Integrated palliative care aims at improving coordination of palliative care services around patients’ anticipated needs. However, international comparisons of how integrated palliative care is implemented across four key domains of integrated care (content of care, patient flow, information logistics and availability of (human) resources and material) are lacking.

AIM:

To examine how integrated palliative care takes shape in practice across abovementioned key domains within several integrated palliative care initiatives in Europe.

DESIGN:

Qualitative group interview design.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS:

A total of 19 group interviews were conducted (2 in Belgium, 4 in the Netherlands, 4 in the United Kingdom, 4 in Germany and 5 in Hungary) with 142 healthcare professionals from several integrated palliative care initiatives in five European countries. The majority were nurses (n = 66; 46%) and physicians (n = 50; 35%).

RESULTS:

The dominant strategy for fostering integrated palliative care is building core teams of palliative care specialists and extended professional networks based on personal relationships, shared norms, values and mutual trust, rather than developing standardised information exchange and referral pathways. Providing integrated palliative care with healthcare professionals in the wider professional community appears difficult, as a shared proactive multidisciplinary palliative care approach is lacking, and healthcare professionals often do not know palliative care professionals or services.

CONCLUSION:

Achieving better palliative care integration into regular healthcare and convincing the wider professional community is a difficult task that will take time and effort. Enhancing standardisation of palliative care into education, referral pathways and guidelines and standardised information exchange may be necessary. External authority (policy makers, insurance companies and professional bodies) may be needed to support integrated palliative care practices across settings.

Integrated palliative care networks from the perspectives of patients: A cross-sectional explorative study in five European countries

BACKGROUND:

Although examining perspectives of patients on integrated palliative care organisation is essential, available literature is largely based on administrative data or healthcare professionals’ perspectives.

AIM:

(1) Providing insight into the composition and quality of care networks of patients receiving palliative care and (2) describing perceived integration between healthcare professionals within these networks and its association with overall satisfaction.

DESIGN:

Cross-sectional explorative design.

SETTING/PARTICIPANTS:

We recruited 157 patients (62% cancer, 25% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 13% chronic heart failure, mean age 68 years, 55% female) from 23 integrated palliative care initiatives in Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary and the Netherlands.

RESULTS:

About 33% reported contact with a palliative care specialist and 48% with a palliative care nurse. Relationships with palliative care specialists were rated significantly higher than other physicians (p < 0.001). Compared to patients with cancer, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds ratio = 0.16, confidence interval (0.04; 0.57)) and chronic heart failure (odds ratio = 0.11, confidence interval (0.01; 0.93)) had significantly lower odds of reporting contact with palliative care specialists and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds ratio = 0.23, confidence interval (0.08; 0.71)) had significantly lower odds of reporting contact with palliative care nurses. Perceptions of main responsible healthcare professionals or caregivers in patient’s care networks varied across countries. Perceived integration was significantly associated with overall satisfaction.

CONCLUSION:

Palliative care professionals are not always present or recognised as such in patients’ care networks. Expert palliative care involvement needs to be explicated especially for non-cancer patients. One healthcare professional should support patients in understanding and navigating their palliative care network. Patients seem satisfied with care provision as long as continuity of care is provided.

Aligning policy objectives and payment design in palliative care

BACKGROUND

Payment models for palliative care vary across nations, with few adopting contemporary payments designs that apply to other parts of the health system.

AIM

To propose optimal payment arrangements for palliative care.

APPROACH

Review of relevant literature on funding mechanisms in health care generally and palliative care in particular.

RESULTS

Payment models for palliative care should move toward activity-based funding using an agreed classification, be uncapped funding with performance monitoring, and make explicit use of performance metrics and reporting.

CONCLUSIONS

If palliative care is to become a universally accessible service, new approaches to funding, based on the experience of funding reforms in other parts of the health system, need to be adopted.

Enhancing integrated palliative care: what models are appropriate? A cross-case analysis

Background

Effective integration between hospices, palliative care services and other local health care services to support patients with palliative care needs is an important international priority. A previous model suggests that integration involves a cumulative stepped process of engagement with other organisations labelled as ‘support, supplant or supplement’, but the extent to which this model currently applies in the United Kingdom is unknown. We aimed to investigate accounts of hospice integration with local health care providers, using the framework provided by the model, to determine how service users and healthcare professionals perceived palliative care services and the extent of integration experienced.

Methods

Longitudinal organisational case study methods were employed using qualitative serial interviews (interval 3 months) with patients and family carers focusing on how services responded to their needs; and group interviews with health professionals. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed by qualitative content analysis and combined across data sources.

Results

The study focused on four hospices in northern England, including 34 patients (diagnosis: 17 cancer, 10 COPD, 7 heart failure), 65% female, mean age 66 (range 44–89), 13 family carers of these patients (48% partners), and 23 health care professionals. While some care fell short of expectations, all patients reported high levels of satisfaction and valued continuity of care and efficient information sharing. All hospices supported and supplemented local providers, with three hospices also supplanting local provision by providing in-patient facilities.

Conclusion

UK hospices predominantly operate in ways that support and supplement other providers. In addition, some also supplant local services, taking over direct responsibility and funding in-patient care. They all contributed to integration with local services, with greater blurring of boundaries than defined by the original model. Integrated care offers the necessary flexibility to respond to changes in patient needs, however, constraints from funding drivers and a lack of clear responsibilities in the UK can result in shortfalls in optimal service delivery. Integrating hospice care with local healthcare services can help to address demographic changes, predominantly more frail older people, and disease factors, including the needs of those with non-malignant conditions. This model, tested in the UK, could serve as an example for other countries.