BACKGROUND: Although measuring the quality of symptom management and end-of-life care could help provide a basis for improving supportive care for advanced cancer, few quality indicators in this area have been rigorously developed or evaluated. METHODS: The authors conducted a pilot evaluation of a comprehensive set of 92 supportive oncology quality indicators, Cancer Quality-ASSIST, including outpatient and hospital indicators for symptoms commonly related to cancer and its treatment and information and care planning. They operationalized the indicators and developed an electronic abstraction tool and extensive guidelines and training materials. Quality assurance nurses abstracted the medical records for 356 advanced cancer patients in 2 settings: a Veterans Administration hospital and an academic hospital and cancer center. The authors evaluated the indicators' feasibility, inter-rater reliability, and validity. RESULTS: The authors successfully evaluated 78 indicators across the domains; results were similar in the 2 settings. They could not feasibly evaluate 3 indicators because of low prevalence; 22 indicators had significant inter-rater reliability issues, 9 had significant validity issues, and 3 had both reliability and validity issues, leaving a set of 41 indicators most promising for further testing and use in this population, with an overall kappa score of 0.85 for specified care. CONCLUSIONS: Of 92 Cancer Quality-ASSIST quality indicators for symptoms, treatment toxicity, and information and care planning, 41 were sufficiently feasible, reliable, and valid to be used for patients with advanced cancer in these settings. This set of indicators shows promise for describing key supportive care processes in advanced cancer.
BACKGROUND: Although measuring the quality of symptom management and end-of-life care could help provide a basis for improving supportive care for advanced cancer, few quality indicators in this area have been rigorously developed or evaluated. METHODS: The authors conducted a pilot evaluation of a comprehensive set of 92 supportive oncology quality indicators, Cancer Quality-ASSIST, including outpatient and hospital indicators for symptoms commonly related to cancer and its treatment and information and care planning. They operationalized the indicators and developed an electronic abstraction tool and extensive guidelines and training materials. Quality assurance nurses abstracted the medical records for 356 advanced cancerpatients in 2 settings: a Veterans Administration hospital and an academic hospital and cancer center. The authors evaluated the indicators' feasibility, inter-rater reliability, and validity. RESULTS: The authors successfully evaluated 78 indicators across the domains; results were similar in the 2 settings. They could not feasibly evaluate 3 indicators because of low prevalence; 22 indicators had significant inter-rater reliability issues, 9 had significant validity issues, and 3 had both reliability and validity issues, leaving a set of 41 indicators most promising for further testing and use in this population, with an overall kappa score of 0.85 for specified care. CONCLUSIONS: Of 92 Cancer Quality-ASSIST quality indicators for symptoms, treatment toxicity, and information and care planning, 41 were sufficiently feasible, reliable, and valid to be used for patients with advanced cancer in these settings. This set of indicators shows promise for describing key supportive care processes in advanced cancer.
Authors: Sangeeta C Ahluwalia; Diana M Tisnado; Anne M Walling; Sydney M Dy; Steven M Asch; Susan L Ettner; Benjamin Kim; Philip Pantoja; Hannah C Schreibeis-Baum; Karl A Lorenz Journal: J Palliat Med Date: 2015-07-17 Impact factor: 2.947
Authors: Tawee Tanvetyanon; Michelle Corman; Ji-Hyun Lee; William J Fulp; Fred Schreiber; Richard H Brown; Richard M Levine; Thomas H Cartwright; Guillermo Abesada-Terk; George P Kim; Carlos Alemany; Douglas Faig; Philip V Sharp; Merry-Jennifer Markham; Gerold Bepler; Erin Siegel; David Shibata; Mokenge Malafa; Paul B Jacobsen Journal: J Oncol Pract Date: 2011-11 Impact factor: 3.840
Authors: Anne M Walling; Diana Tisnado; Susan L Ettner; Steven M Asch; Sydney M Dy; Philip Pantoja; Martin Lee; Sangeeta C Ahluwalia; Hannah Schreibeis-Baum; Jennifer L Malin; Karl A Lorenz Journal: J Pain Symptom Manage Date: 2016-07-09 Impact factor: 3.612
Authors: Sydney M Dy; Nebras Abu Al Hamayel; Susan M Hannum; Ritu Sharma; Sarina R Isenberg; Kamini Kuchinad; Junya Zhu; Katherine Smith; Karl A Lorenz; Arif H Kamal; Anne M Walling; Sallie J Weaver Journal: J Pain Symptom Manage Date: 2017-08-09 Impact factor: 3.612
Authors: Arif H Kamal; Margaret Gradison; Jennifer M Maguire; Donald Taylor; Amy P Abernethy Journal: J Oncol Pract Date: 2014-06-10 Impact factor: 3.840
Authors: Arif H Kamal; Janet Bull; Dio Kavalieratos; Jonathan M Nicolla; Laura Roe; Martha Adams; Amy P Abernethy Journal: J Palliat Med Date: 2016-06-27 Impact factor: 2.947
Authors: Cleo A Samuel; Kea Turner; Heidi A S Donovan; Ellen Beckjord; Alexandra Cardy; Mary Amanda Dew; G J van Londen Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2017-07-06 Impact factor: 3.603
Authors: Rebecca L Sudore; Daren K Heyland; Hillary D Lum; Judith A C Rietjens; Ida J Korfage; Christine S Ritchie; Laura C Hanson; Diane E Meier; Steven Z Pantilat; Karl Lorenz; Michelle Howard; Michael J Green; Jessica E Simon; Mariko A Feuz; John J You Journal: J Pain Symptom Manage Date: 2017-09-01 Impact factor: 3.612
Authors: Michelle van Ryn; Sean M Phelan; Neeraj K Arora; David A Haggstrom; George L Jackson; S Yousuf Zafar; Joan M Griffin; Leah L Zullig; Dawn Provenzale; Mark W Yeazel; Rahul M Jindal; Steven B Clauser Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2014-02-03 Impact factor: 44.544