• Palliative medicine · Feb 2015

    Testing feasibility and reliability of a set of quality indicators to evaluate the organization of palliative care across Europe: a pilot study in 25 countries.

    • Kathrin Woitha, Jeroen Hasselaar, Karen van Beek, Nisar Ahmed, Birgit Jaspers, Jan C M Hendriks, Lukas Radbruch, Kris Vissers, and Yvonne Engels.
    • Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Yvonne.Engels@radboudumc.nl.
    • Palliat Med. 2015 Feb 1;29(2):157-63.

    BackgroundA well-organized palliative care service is a prerequisite for offering good palliative care. Reliable and feasible quality indicators are needed to monitor the quality of their organization.AimTo test feasibility and reliability of a previously developed set of quality indicators in settings and services that provide palliative care across Europe.MethodsA total of 38 quality indicators, applicable in all types of settings, rated in a RAND Delphi process, and operationalized into 38 yes/no questions, were used. Descriptives statistics, factor and reliability analyses, analysis of variance, and chi-square analyses were used.DesignCross-sectional online survey.Setting/ParticipantsQuestionnaires were sent to representatives of 217 palliative care settings in 25 countries. Included settings were hospices, inpatient dedicated palliative care beds, palliative care outpatient clinics, palliative care units, day care centers for palliative care, palliative care home support teams, inpatient palliative care support teams, care homes, and nursing homes.ResultsAll invited 25 European Association of Palliative Care countries took part. In total, 107 out of 217 participants responded (57%). The quality indicators were reduced to four coherent sub-scales, being "equipment and continuity of care," "structured documentation of essential palliative care elements in the medical record," "training and appraisal of personnel," and "availability of controlled drugs." No significant differences in quality criteria between the different types of settings and services were identified.ConclusionThe set of quality indicators appeared to measure four reliable domains that assess the organization of different palliative care settings. It can be used as a starting point for quality improvement activities.© The Author(s) 2015.

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