• Mui Teng Chua, Sen KuanWinWEmergency Medicine Department, National University Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore., Charles Qishi Zheng, Ling Tiah, Ranjeev Kumar, Yoko Kin Yoke Wong, Jingping Lin, Sufang Liang, Catriona R Mayland, Luming Shi, Irwani Ibrahim, and PalRakhee YashRYEmergency Medicine Department, National University Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore..
• Emergency Medicine Department, National University Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
• Ann Palliat Med. 2021 Jun 1; 10 (6): 6145-6155.

BackgroundAn increasing number of patients who present to emergency departments are at their end-of-life phase and have significant palliative care needs such as in symptom control for pain and dyspnoea. Evaluating quality of care provided is imperative, yet there is no suitable tool validated in the emergency and Asian settings. We aim to examine the face and construct validity, and reliability of a newly developed questionnaire, Care of the Dying Evaluation - Emergency Medicine, for measuring the quality of end-of-life care in an Asian emergency context.MethodsA mixed methods pilot study was conducted. Participants composed of the next-of-kin to thirty dying patients who presented to the emergency departments of three public hospitals in Singapore. Qualitative evaluation, using cognitive "think-aloud" interviews, and quantitative analysis were employed. Percentage agreement and κ statistic were measured to evaluate temporal stability of the questionnaire. Cronbach's α and item-total correlations were used to assess internal consistency within the constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed for construct validity.ResultsAll participants reported clear understanding of the questionnaire with no ambiguity; a minority felt the questions caused emotional distress (7/30, 23.3%). The questions showed moderate to good test-retest reliability. Internal consistencies within the constructs were good for "ENVIRONMENT" and "CARE", and moderate for "COMMUNICATION". Factor loadings range from 0.40 to 0.99.ConclusionsThe Care of the Dying Evaluation - Emergency Medicine questionnaire may be valid and reliable for use in an Asian emergency setting. Our prospective multicentre study using this evaluation tool may provide more insight on the quality of care rendered to dying patients and identify areas for improvement.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03906747).

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