Why carry out this study?
|
Early integration of palliative care into oncology services and improved care coordination across levels are beneficial interventions. |
A standardized care pathway (SCP) can promote integrated healthcare. |
What was learned from the study?
|
Developing an SCP across care levels in a rural region was feasible and improved healthcare professional-reported palliative cancer care. |
An extensive implementation process yielded limited use of the SCP in clinical practice. |
Elements for successful implementation need to be further investigated. |
Introduction
Methods
Context
Participants
The intervention
Development of the intervention
A counselor from Trondheim University Hospital director’s staff |
Patient representative |
Specialist healthcare services: |
Leader of the group/consultant in oncology, Orkdal Hospitala |
Consultant in internal medicine, Orkdal Hospital |
Consultant in surgery, Orkdal Hospital |
Consultant in oncology and palliative care physician, Trondheim University Hospital |
Cancer and palliative care nurse, Integrated Clinic, Orkdal Hospital |
Cancer and palliative care nurse, internal medicine ward, Orkdal Hospital |
Cancer and palliative care nurse, palliative unit, Trondheim University Hospital |
Palliative care nurse, palliative unit, Trondheim University Hospital |
Study nurse, Orkdal Hospitala |
Nurse and project worker, Regional Advisory Unit for Palliative Care, Mid-Norwaya |
Community health and care services: |
GPb from one of the participating municipalities |
Local cancer coordinator [21]a |
Home care nurse with experience from PaTHc |
Capacity and resources |
The patient has no GP |
Low engagement from the GP regarding patients with terminal illness |
Lack of hospital inpatient capacity |
Access to healthcare personnel with specialist competence in palliative care |
Dying patients in the communities require resources |
Coordination and responsibility |
Communication between the levels due to different ICTa system |
Lack of continuity when the patients are admitted to the ERb |
Insecurity regarding who is in charge of the patient; who receives the discharge report from the hospital |
GP must coordinate referrals to various hospital departments |
Return to hospital after discharge without passing by ER—how should it be practiced? |
Updated medication lists when the patient is admitted to or discharged from hospital are often lacking |
Competency |
The content of the discharge reports regarding palliative care is inadequate |
Inadequate documentation: What is discussed with patient and carer regarding treatment options? |
Lack of competence in palliative care |
Difficult for the GP to know when a cancer patient is in a palliative setting |
Location | (1) Referral | (2) Treatment and follow-up | (3) End-of-life care |
---|---|---|---|
Home or nursing home | Referral address Telephone numbers with access to cancer and palliative care 24/7 Structure of referral letter Referral criteria | No home care: Information about rehabilitation Information about local initiatives for cancer patients outside of hospital Contact information to community cancer and palliative care nurses Home care or nursing home: Five checklists for nurses 1. Admission to and discharge from hospital 2. Receiving electronic health information from hospital before discharge 3. First visit (assessment visit) from community nurse at home or after admission to nursing home 4. Assessment checklist for cancer patients (addition to checklist 3) 5. Assessment checklist for the palliative patient Assessment tools Symptom assessment tool (EAPC basic dataseta) Depression assessment tool (PHQ9b) Functional status (WHOc, Karnofskyd) Assessment of carers needs (CSNATe) Assessment of pain, patients who cannot self-report (Doloplus-2 [51]) Mini mental status evaluation, short version [52] Care of the carers How to take care of children (checklist) Structure of family meeting Structure of family meeting when the patient is dying Application form for up to 60 days care allowance Multidisciplinary collaboration with hospital Symptom treatment Nutrition Procedures for technical equipment Coordination of care Procedures for coordination of admission and discharge from hospital Patient-held record | Dying at home: Nurse checklists Link to the four most important medications at the end of life Structure of a family meeting when a patient is dying Plan of action when a patient is dying Carers Structure of meeting with the bereaved Link to information about death and dying from Norwegian Health Authorities Dying in nursing home: As for “Dying at home” |
Integrated outpatient clinic | Description of routines when receiving a referral letter | General: Nurse checklist Assessment tools Care of the carers Structure of family meeting Children as carers Multidisciplinarity: Offers at Orkdal Hospital Symptom treatment: Link to national guidelines in palliative cancer care Nutrition Procedures for technical equipment Coordination of care Coordination of services between Integrated Clinic and dept. of internal medicine, surgery and anesthesia at Orkdal Hospital Patient trajectory for malignant medulla compression Referral procedures to Cancer Clinic at Trondheim University Hospital Ongoing anti-cancer treatment: Structure of oncologist’s and palliative care team’s visit note Patient trajectory for neutropenic infection patients General guidelines for chemotherapy treatment Link to description of side effects Referral procedures to dept. of anesthesia get central venous access Anti-cancer treatment stopped: Structure of oncologist’s and palliative care team’s visit note | Available for counseling Home visit on request |
Hospital ward | Structure of referral letter to integrated outpatient clinic Description of who can be referred Referral addressed to integrated outpatient clinic Relevant telephone numbers with access to cancer and palliative care 24/7 | Admission: Nurse checklist Discharge: Structure of physicians’ discharge report Nurse checklist As for integrated outpatient clinic: Assessment tools Symptom treatment Nutrition Coordination of care Care of the carers Procedures for technical equipment Multidisciplinarity | Dying in hospital: Link to the four most important medications at the end of life Structure of a family meeting when a patient is dying Plan of action when a patient is dying Procedures when a death occurs in-hospital |
Content of the intervention
The implementation strategy
Evaluation of the intervention and implementation strategy
Summary of interview guide 1 |
For patients |
Do you know the PHRa? |
Do your carers know the PHR? |
Has anybody asked you to use PHR? |
Do you write in PHR? |
If yes, in what part of the PHR do you write? |
Have you got an updated medication list in your PHR? |
For HCPsb |
Do you know the PHR? |
Do you have palliative cancer patients using PHR? |
Is the PHR useful for you as healthcare provider? |
Do you wish that the patient should use the PHR? |
Do you write in the PHR? |
Summary of interview guide 2 |
For HCLsc/ HCPs |
How would you define “The Orkdal Model”? |
What do you think are the goals of the model? |
What do you think is needed to reach the goal? Who (persons, institutions) are important to reach the goal? |
What are the obstacles to reach the goal? |
What do you know about SCPd in general and in The Orkdal Model in particular? |
Have you used SCP before? |
Which factors are important to succeed with the SCP? What are the obstacles? |
How do you think the SCP will affect your job? |
Summary of interview guide 3 |
For HCPs |
To what degree is the SCP known at your workplace? |
What kind of teaching in the use of the SCP have you received? |
How do you understand the term “SCP”? What do you think is the goal of implementation of the SCP? |
Do you experience that you use the SCP at your workplace? |
If yes, why do you think you have succeeded in using it? |
If no, what do you think can explain why the SCP is not in use? |
What thoughts do you have regarding implementation of SCP at your workplace? Are there any practical challenges to implement it? |
Does the management at your workplace know the SCP and motivate you to use it? |
What role do the process facilitators play regarding implementation (teaching and motivation)? |
How do you think the SCP influences on patients’ symptom management, quality of life, staying at home at the end of life and dying at home? |
How do you think the SCP influences on the interaction between hospital and community care? |
Acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, and feasibility
Fidelity, coverage, and sustainability
After 2 months | N (Response rate) | Nurses (%) | Nurse assistants (%) | Physicians (%) | Healthcare leaders (%) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Received questionnaires | 1320 | 391 | (30%) | 784 | (59%) | 69 | (5.2%) | 76 | (5.8%) | |
Hospital | 119 | 81 | (68%) | 17 | (14%) | 15 | (13%) | 6 | (5.0%) | |
Community care | 1201 | 310 | (26%) | 767 | (64%) | 54 | (4.5%) | 70 | (5.8%) | |
Responded and signed informed consent | 355 | (27%) | 175 | (49%) | 160 | (45%) | 18 | (5.1%) | 61a | |
Hospital | 35 | (29%) | 25 | (71%) | 3 | (8.6%) | 7 | (20%) | 7a | |
Community care | 318 | (26%) | 149 | (47%) | 156 | (49%) | 11 | (3.5%) | 54a | |
Missing data | 2 | |||||||||
After 2.5 years | ||||||||||
Received questionnaires | 370b | 146 | (40%) | 170 | (46%) | 20 | (5.4%) | 34 | (9.2%) | |
Hospital | 35 | 23 | (66%) | 3 | (8.6%) | 6 | (17%) | 3 | (8.6%) | |
Primary care | 335 | 123 | (37%) | 167 | (50%) | 14 | (4.2%) | 31 | (9.3%) | |
Responded | 155 | (42%) | 85 | (55%) | 58 | (37%) | 12 | (7.7%) | 26a | |
Hospital | 26 | (74%) | 20 | (77%) | 2 | (7.7%) | 4 | (15%) | 2a | |
Community care | 129 | (39%) | 65 | (50%) | 56 | (43%) | 8 | (6.2%) | 24a |
N (Response rate) | After 2 months | N (Response rate) | After 2.5 years | Pc | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
“Have you started to use the SCP?” | 287 | (22%) | Yes: No: | 53 234 | (18%) (82%) | 152 | (41%) | Yes: No: | 43 109 | (28%) (72%) | 0.02 | |
“Have you received education in the SCP for palliative cancer patients in the Orkdal region?” | 287 | (22%) | Yes: No: | 83 204 | (29%) (71%) | 153 | (41%) | Yes: No: | 63 90 | (41%) (59%) | 0.01 | |
“Have you taught your colleagues or other HCPs in cancer and palliative care topics during the last six months?” | 108 | (8.2%) | Yes: No: | 34 74 | (31%) (69%) | 155 | (42%) | Yes: No: | 31 124 | (20%) (80%) | 0.04 | |
“I feel confident in using high doses of opioids for pain relief also for patients at the end of life” | 168d | (37%) | Agree: Do not agree: | 121 47 | (72%) (28%) | 95d | (57%) | Agree: Do not agree: | 81 14 | (85%) (15%) | 0.02 | |
“I feel as confident together with a dying patient as together with other patients” | 293 | (22%) | Agree: Do not agree: | 226 67 | (77%) (23%) | 152 | (41%) | Agree: Do not agree: | 129 23 | (85%) (15%) | 0.06 | |
“How often do you ask the patients to fill in a numeric scale from 0 to 10 to assess symptom intensity?” | 293 | (22%) | Sometimes or often: Not at all: | 146 147 | (50%) (50%) | 152 | (41%) | Sometimes or often: Not at all: | 94 58 | (62%) (38%) | 0.02 |