Effects of routine outcome measurement in palliative care

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Implementation and monitoring of effects of routine outcome measurement in palliative care – a feasibility study

• IRAS ID

  164970

• Contact name

  Fliss Murtagh

• Contact email

  fliss.murtagh@kcl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  King's College London

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 8 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Patients in receipt of palliative care may experience symptoms, such as pain, breathlessness and anxiety, and may have unmet information and practical needs. In palliative care, 'outcome measures' refer to measures of pain, breathlessness and other such symptoms which are distressing to patients. They also include measures of anxiety, information needs, family distress and practical concerns.
  Commissioning of palliative care services may soon be based on outcome data and services are being mandated to integrate outcome measures into routine clinical practice. However, the feasibility of implementing outcome measures into routine palliative care in the UK, and of subsequently monitoring the effects of routine use of outcome measures, has not been addressed in previous research. Furthermore, there is limited and at times contradicting evidence about the effects of using outcome measures on processes and outcomes of care. In light of this, it is important to assess the feasibility of implementing outcome measures and to establish their impact on processes and outcomes of care.
  We plan to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether a full trial (involving multiple sites) may be possible in the future to study implementation and effectiveness of outcome measurement in palliative care in the UK. In total, this feasibility study will include 40-60 patients and 20-32 caregivers. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires that ask about patient symptoms and needs, and about the quality of care received. Additionally, some participants will be invited to cognitive interviews and staff involved in the study will be invited to a debriefing meeting to discuss their experience of the research process. Data from hospital records, questionnaires, interviews, and feedback from debriefing meetings will then be used to assess whether a full trial would be feasible and what the best design for such a trial would be.

• REC name

  London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/2054

• Date of REC Opinion

  4 Dec 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion