End-of-Life
Conditions
Keywords
Dying, Patients, Hospice, Liverpool Care Pathways
Brief summary
This is a before-after phase II study, according to the Medical Research Council framework, investigating the feasibility of introducing the Liverpool Care Pathway for the dying patient (LCP) in 5 Ligurian hospices.
Interventions
OTHERLCP Program
The LCP Program is continuous quality improvement program of end-of-life care implemented in hospice
Sponsors
Regional Palliative Care Network
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* All patients deceased in the hospice during the evaluation period * Approval of ethics committee
Exclusion criteria
* Prior use of LCP in the hospice * Deceased was a relative of a hospice member of staff
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| feasibility of LCP implementation | 6 months after the end of LCP implementation | measured as proportion of hospices that complete the experimental phase of introducing the LCP Program and maintain the program in the 6 months subsequent the process of experimental LCP implementation |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Level of advanced care planning among patients | 2 - 4 months after the patient's death | measured with the scale 2 (Encouraging advance care planning) from the Toolkit After-death bereaved family member interview (Teno 2001). The Toolkit will be administered to non-professional caregivers 2-4 months after the patient's death |
| Provision of care focusing on patient's individual needs. | 2 - 4 months after the patient's death | measured with the scale 3 (Focus on individual) from the Toolkit After-death bereaved family member interview (Teno 2001). The Toolkit will be administered to non-professional caregivers 2-4 months after the patient's death |
| Quality of emotional support to family members before an after the patient's death | 2 - 4 months after the patient's death | measured with the scale 4 (Attending to the emotional and spiritual needs of the family) from the Toolkit After-death bereaved family member interview (Teno 2001). The Toolkit will be administered to non-professional caregivers 2-4 months after the patient's death |
| Level of care coordination | 2 - 4 months after the patient's death | measured with the scale 5 (Providing coordination of care) from the Toolkit After-death bereaved family member interview (Teno 2001). The Toolkit will be administered to non-professional caregivers 2-4 months after the patient's death |
| quality of information provided to patients and to family | 2-4 months after the patient's death | measured with the scale 1 (Informing and promoting shared decision making) from the Toolkit After-death bereaved family member interview (Teno 2001). The Toolkit will be administered to non-professional caregivers 2-4 months after the patient's death |
| Appropriateness of therapeutic and diagnostic procedures | the last 3 days of life | measured with a specific tool in which all diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and drugs administered to the patient during the last 3 days of life are reported |
| Overall quality of care experience for patients and family | 2 - 4 months after the death of the patient | measured with the scale 7 (Overall quality of care provided to patients and family) from the Toolkit After-death bereaved family member interview (Teno 2001). The Toolkit will be administered to non-professional caregivers 2-4 months after the patient's death |
| Quality of communication between General Practitioner and hospice | an expected average of 2 months after the patient's death | measured with a telephonic interview |
| Family support levels | 2 - 4 months after the death of the patient | measured with the scale 6 (Supporting the self-efficacy of the family) from the Toolkit After-death bereaved family member interview (Teno 2001). The Toolkit will be administered to non-professional caregivers 2-4 months after the patient's death |
Countries
Italy
Outcome results
None listed