The Effectiveness and Value of Palliative Care in the Outpatient Setting

Outpatient Palliative Care Program: Impact on Home Death Rate in Brazil

While the positive impact of early palliative care on the quality of life of cancer patients is well established, there is a noticeable research gap in developing countries. This study sought to determine the impact of an outpatient palliative care (OPC) program on the location of death among patients in Brazil. This was a retrospective study including patients with cancer who died between January 2022 and December 2022 in 32 private cancer centers in Brazil. Data were collected from medical records, encompassing demographics, cancer characteristics, and participation in the OPC program. The study involved 1980 patients, of which 32.3% were in the OPC program. OPC patients were predominantly younger (average age at death of 66.8 vs. 68.0 years old, p = 0.039) and composed of women (59.4% vs. 51.3%, p = 0.019) compared to the no-OPC patients. OPC patients had more home/hospice deaths (19.6% vs. 10.4%, p < 0.001), and participation in the outpatient palliative care program strongly predicted home death (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.54-2.64). Our findings suggest a significant impact of the OPC program on increasing home and hospice deaths among patients with cancer in our sample. These findings emphasize the potential of specialized OPC programs to enhance end-of-life care, particularly in low-resource countries facing challenges related to social and cultural dimensions of care and healthcare access.

Outpatient Palliative Care Service Involvement: A Five-Year Experience from a Tertiary Hospital in Switzerland

Background

The value of early integration of palliative care has been demonstrated increasingly for the past years in both oncological and nononcological diseases. Outpatient palliative care services might represent a feasible approach to implement supportive care in early disease. In this study, we aimed at evaluating which patients use and benefit from outpatient palliative care services, which symptoms are addressed most, and which support services are installed in this early phase of disease.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed the entire patient collective of a recently developed palliative care outpatient clinic within the leading university hospital in Switzerland for a period of five years. Sociodemographics, symptoms, and information on disease as well as patient-reported outcomes were retrieved from the electronic patient files. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed by descriptive statistics between groups and survival was analyzed by means of Kaplan-Meier estimates and log-rank test.

Results

We report on 642 consultations of 363 patients between 2016 and 2020. Patients had a mean of 1.8 visits (range 1-10), with n = 340 patients (93.7%) of patients suffering from an oncological disease. Overall symptom load was high, with n = 401 (73.7%) of patient-reported outcomes reporting two or more symptoms. Distress levels of 5 or higher were reported in n = 78 (30.4%) of available patient-reported outcomes. Independent of the origin of primary disease and the length of the disease trajectory, patients were referred to the palliative care service in median only four months before death.

Conclusion

We identify high symptom load and distress in the outpatient palliative patient population. Patients benefitted from supportive medication, improvement of ambulatory support systems and advance care planning, and more than one-third of patients remained in follow-up, indicating a good acceptance of the service. Overcoming the overall late referral could, however, further increase the quality of life at earlier stages of disease.

Comfort Needs of Cancer Family Caregivers in Outpatient Palliative Care

Rapid expansion of outpatient palliative care has been fueled by the growing number of people living with cancer and other chronic illnesses whose symptoms are largely managed in the community rather than inpatient settings. Nurses and other palliative care professionals support seriously ill patients and their families, yet little research has specifically examined the needs of cancer family caregivers receiving services from outpatient palliative care teams. To address this gap in the knowledge base, researchers conducted a reflective thematic analysis of qualitative interviews conducted with 39 family caregivers, using Comfort Theory as a theoretical guide. Seven themes describing caregivers' comfort needs were identified, including the need to understand, need for self-efficacy, need to derive meaning, need for informal support, need for formal support, need for resources, and need for self-care. Findings have clear implications for palliative nursing, as they directly address cancer family caregivers' needs in 5 of the 8 domains of care delineated by the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care's Clinical Practice Guidelines. Comprehensive, holistic nursing assessment is suggested to identify family caregivers' needs and plan for delivery of evidence-based interventions shown to decrease burden and improve quality of life.

At the crossroads of religion and palliative care in patients with dementia

The timing of palliative care initiation may be more appropriately directed using a needs-based approach, instead of a prognostically driven one. Jewish Law or Halachah (“the way”) upholds a strong commitment to the sanctity of life and teaches that the duty to prolong life supersedes the duty to end suffering prematurely, unless one is expected to imminently die. This intersection of palliative care and a reliance on prognostic triggers with an individual’s observance of religious traditions complicates matters nearing the end-of-life. A recent pilot study by Sternberg et al. of 20 patients with advanced dementia in Israel found that home hospice care significantly reduced distressing symptoms, caregiver burden and hospitalization and teaches us important lessons about some of the essential elements to providing excellent palliative care at home, including the 24/7 availability of healthcare providers outside of the emergency department. In light of specific religious practices, palliative care should strive to incorporate a patient’s specific religious observance as part of high-quality end-of-life care.

[Every week counts: Use of health services and related costs of a community-based cohort of people with advanced chronic diseases]

Objetivo

Describir el uso de dispositivos sanitarios de las personas con cronicidad avanzada, cuantificando y caracterizando el coste de dicho consumo para sugerir mejoras en los modelos de atención.

Diseño

Estudio observacional, analítico y prospectivo durante 3 años de una cohorte de personas con cronicidad avanzada.

Emplazamiento

Tres equipos de atención primaria (EAP) de Osona, Cataluña.

Participantes

Un total de 224 personas identificadas como enfermos avanzados mediante una estrategia poblacional sistemática.

Mediciones principales

Edad, sexo, tipo de domicilio, trayectoria final de vida; uso, tipo y coste de los recursos en atención primaria, urgencias, por equipos de paliativos o de hospitalización (en agudos o atención intermedia).

Resultados

Se realizaron una media de 1,1 ingresos al año (estancia media = 6 días), el 74% en hospitales de atención intermedia. El 93,4% del tiempo los pacientes vivieron en la comunidad, realizando un contacto semanal con el EAP (45,1% en domicilio). El coste medio diario fue 19,4 euros, siendo los principales capítulos la hospitalización de atención intermedia (36,5%), la actividad EAP (29,4%) y los ingresos en agudos (28,6%). Los determinantes de menor coste serían la trayectoria fragilidad/demencia (p < 0,001), vivir en una residencia (p < 0,001) y el sobreenvejecimiento (p < 0,001). Hay ciertas diferencias en el comportamiento de los EAP en el coste global y en recursos comunitarios (p < 0,05).

Conclusiones

Los consumos en hospitalización intermedia y atención primaria son más relevantes que las estancias en centros de agudos. Los contextos residencial y domiciliario son importantes para atender con efectividad y eficiencia, especialmente cuando los EAP se preparan para ello.