Effects of two feedback interventions on end-of-life outcomes in nursing home residents with dementia: A cluster-randomized controlled three-armed trial

BACKGROUND

Despite increased attention for palliative care in dementia, recent studies found burdensome symptoms and unmet family caregiver needs in the last phase of life. Feedback is being used to improve the quality of palliative care, but we do not know how effective it is.

AIM

To assess the effect of two feedback strategies on perceived quality of end-of-life care and comfort in dying nursing home residents with dementia.

METHODS

In a cluster-randomized controlled trial, the End-of-Life in Dementia-Satisfaction With Care and the End-of-Life in Dementia-Comfort Assessment in Dying scales were completed by bereaved family caregivers of residents with dementia of 18 Dutch nursing homes. Two feedback strategies, generic feedback with mean End-of-Life in Dementia-scores and feedback with individual (patient-specific) End-of-Life in Dementia-scores, were compared to no feedback provided. The intervention groups discussed End-of-Life in Dementia-ratings in team meetings and formulated actions to improve care. Multi-level analyses assessed effects.

RESULTS

A total of 668 families rated the End-of-Life in Dementia-instruments. Compared to no feedback, the generic strategy resulted in lower quality of end-of-life care in unadjusted ( B = -1.65, confidence interval = -3.27; -0.21) and adjusted analyses ( B = -2.41, confidence interval = -4.07; -0.76), while there was no effect on comfort. The patient-specific strategy did not affect the quality of end-of-life care, but it increased comfort in unadjusted analyses (only, B = 2.20, confidence interval = 0.15; 4.39; adjusted: B = 1.88, confidence interval = -0.34; 4.10).

CONCLUSION

Neither feedback strategy improved end-of-life outcome. Perhaps, skills to translate the feedback into care improvement actions were insufficient. Feedback with favorable family ratings might even have triggered opposite effects. Trial number: NTR3942.

Concept analysis of good death in long term care residents

The purpose of this concept analysis paper is to delineate the meaning of good death in long term care (LTC) settings and examine its implications for nursing. The Walker and Avant (2011) method was chosen for this analysis. An in depth literature review identifies uses of the concept and determines the defining attributes of the good death. This paper also illustrates case presentations, antecedents, consequences, empirical referents and implications for clinical practice to clarify the concept of 'good death' in this population. In LTC, death is experienced frequently and is considered the ultimate outcome for most admissions. Much of the existing research on end-of-life care has focused on community dwelling cancer patients whose death trajectory is predictable and who may remain cognitively intact until actively dying. In contrast, the LTC population is older and more likely to suffer from dementia and experience chronic illness for long periods prior to death, and they follow a less predictable death trajectory. In this century, death became the province of older people and the assurance of a good death became the responsibility of those caring for them.

The rote administrative approach to death in senior housing: Using the other door

Understanding death in long-term care (LTC) facilities and the preexisting standards and policies pertaining to the death experience in LTC is essential. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 administrators of CCRCs and data analyzed through content analysis. Results of the current study reveal that administrators spoke of approaching death in their facility similar to any other procedural task, removal of the residents' bodies varied by community, and coordination responsibilities ranged from maintenance crews to management. Notification practices for residents and staff were also inconsistent. Differences existed in internal cultures on providing forms of respect. These practices were standard for some facilities while others were flexible to accommodate family requests. The majority of the sites did not offer additional training on death and dying for staff members. Findings suggest the need for consistency regarding how senior housing administrators approach the death of a resident and provide support for staff members.

Antipsychotics and mortality: adjusting for mortality risk scores to address confounding by terminal illness

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether adjustment for prognostic indices specifically developed for nursing home (NH) populations affect the magnitude of previously observed associations between mortality and conventional and atypical antipsychotics.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

SETTING

A merged data set of Medicaid, Medicare, Minimum Data Set (MDS), Online Survey Certification and Reporting system, and National Death Index for 2001 to 2005.

PARTICIPANTS

Dual-eligible individuals aged 65 and older who initiated antipsychotic treatment in a NH (N=75,445).

MEASUREMENTS

Three mortality risk scores (Mortality Risk Index Score, Revised MDS Mortality Risk Index, Advanced Dementia Prognostic Tool) were derived for each participant using baseline MDS data, and their performance was assessed using c-statistics and goodness-of-fit tests. The effect of adjusting for these indices in addition to propensity scores (PSs) on the association between antipsychotic medication and mortality was evaluated using Cox models with and without adjustment for risk scores.

RESULTS

Each risk score showed moderate discrimination for 6-month mortality, with c-statistics ranging from 0.61 to 0.63. There was no evidence of lack of fit. Imbalances in risk scores between conventional and atypical antipsychotic users, suggesting potential confounding, were much lower within PS deciles than the imbalances in the full cohort. Accounting for each score in the Cox model did not change the relative risk estimates: 2.24 with PS-only adjustment versus 2.20, 2.20, and 2.22 after further adjustment for the three risk scores.

CONCLUSION

Although causality cannot be proven based on nonrandomized studies, this study adds to the body of evidence rejecting explanations other than causality for the greater mortality risk associated with conventional antipsychotics than with atypical antipsychotics.

Feedback on end-of-life care in dementia: the study protocol of the FOLlow-up project

BACKGROUND

End-of-life care in dementia in nursing homes is often found to be suboptimal. The Feedback on End-of-Life care in dementia (FOLlow-up) project tests the effectiveness of audit- and feedback to improve the quality of end-of-life care in dementia.

METHODS/DESIGN

Nursing homes systematically invite the family after death of a resident with dementia to provide feedback using the End-of-Life in Dementia (EOLD) - instruments. Two audit- and feedback strategies are designed and tested in a three-armed Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT): a generic feedback strategy using cumulative EOLD-scores of a group of patients and a patient specific feedback strategy using EOLD-scores on a patient level. A total of 18 nursing homes, three groups of six homes matched on size, geographic location, religious affiliation and availability of a palliative care unit were randomly assigned to an intervention group or the control group. The effect on quality of care and quality of dying and the barriers and facilitators of audit- and feedback in the nursing home setting are evaluated using mixed-method analyses.

DISCUSSION

The FOLlow-up project is the first study to assess and compare the effect of two audit- and feedback strategies to improve quality of care and quality of dying in dementia. The results contribute to the development of practice guidelines for nursing homes to monitor and improve care outcomes in the realm of end-of-life care in dementia.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The Netherlands National Trial Register (NTR).

TRIAL NUMBER

NTR3942.

Personal reflection: death brokering for critical care nurses

End-of-life care and the dying patient have been an area lightly covered in my nursing school experience. While I expected the topics to surface in more detail in conjunction with the critical care nursing unit, this was not the case. This article is a personal reflection on my experience in critical care nursing and the deficits involving death and dying education in both institutional and professional settings.