Older patients in the last year of life Not Applicable
Conditions
Interventions
In this study we tested the feasibility of a transitional care pathway. To achieve the care pathway, interventions were done on health care professional level. The interventions included:
Sponsors
Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Patients: 1. Eligible patients were older than 60 years 2. Admitted for at least 48 hours 3. They were judged to be in need of palliative care if their physician answered the Surprise Question (would I be surprised if the patient died in the next 12 months) with 'No' and if there were two or more criteria present from the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool™ Professionals: Professionals could participate in semi-structured interviews if either 1. A patient of theirs was included in the study 2. They participated in the training modules 3. They are part of the transitional palliative care team
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Patients who lived outside a set postal code area because the transitional palliative care team would not be able to perform home visits 2. Cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination <15) 3. No proficiency in the Dutch language 4. Did not provide consent
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Feasibility of different study components measured on: 1. Patient recruitment. This was measured by how many patients we could recruit within six months 2. Data collection. This was measured by registering for how many of the included patients outcome data was known on hospital readmissions and place of death, which were the intended outcomes for the trial following this feasibility study. Furthermore, we assessed how many questionnaires were completed at baseline, two weeks, one month, three months and six months post-discharge. The results of the questionnaires were not part of this study, but solely if the intended data collection was feasible and patients were able to answer all questionnaires 3. The patient burden of answering the questionnaires was measured with a 10-point Likert scale 4. Implementation of study components and protocol adherence. This was measured by registering if all intended components of the study were performed for each included patient | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Experiences of professionals with the training modules measured with a survey amongst participants after the training modules which took part during the first month of the trial 2. Professionals' acceptability of the study measured through semi-structured qualitative interviews between March and July 2018 | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Outcome results
None listed