OBJECTIVES: In Germany since 2007 patients with advanced life-limiting diseases are eligible for Specialized Outpatient Palliative Care (SOPC). To provide this service, SOPC teams have been established as a new facility in the health care system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of one of the first SOPC teams based at the Munich University Hospital. METHODS: All patients treated by the SOPC team and their primary caregivers were eligible for this prospective nonrandomized study. The main topics of the surveys before and after involvement of the SOPC team were: for patients, the assessment of symptom burden (Minimal Documentation System for Palliative Medicine, MIDOS), satisfaction with quality of palliative care (Palliative Outcome Scale, POS), and quality of life (McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, MQOL); for caregivers, burden of care (Häusliche Pflegeskala, home care scale, HPS), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), and quality of life (Quality of Life in Life-Threatening Illness-Family Carer Version, QOLLTI-F). RESULTS: Of 100 patients treated between April and November 2011, 60 were included in the study (median age 67.5 years, 55% male, 87% oncological diseases). In 23 of 60 patients, only caregivers could be interviewed. The median interval between the first and second interview was 2.5 weeks. Quality of life increased significantly in patients (p<0.05) and caregivers (p<0.001), as did the patients' perception of quality of palliative care (POS, p<0.001), while the caregivers' psychological distress and burden of care significantly decreased (HADS, p<0.001; HPS, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The involvement of an SOPC team leads to a significant improvement in the quality of life of patients and caregivers and can lower the burden of home care for the caregivers of severely ill patients.
OBJECTIVES: In Germany since 2007 patients with advanced life-limiting diseases are eligible for Specialized Outpatient Palliative Care (SOPC). To provide this service, SOPC teams have been established as a new facility in the health care system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of one of the first SOPC teams based at the Munich University Hospital. METHODS: All patients treated by the SOPC team and their primary caregivers were eligible for this prospective nonrandomized study. The main topics of the surveys before and after involvement of the SOPC team were: for patients, the assessment of symptom burden (Minimal Documentation System for Palliative Medicine, MIDOS), satisfaction with quality of palliative care (Palliative Outcome Scale, POS), and quality of life (McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, MQOL); for caregivers, burden of care (Häusliche Pflegeskala, home care scale, HPS), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), and quality of life (Quality of Life in Life-Threatening Illness-Family Carer Version, QOLLTI-F). RESULTS: Of 100 patients treated between April and November 2011, 60 were included in the study (median age 67.5 years, 55% male, 87% oncological diseases). In 23 of 60 patients, only caregivers could be interviewed. The median interval between the first and second interview was 2.5 weeks. Quality of life increased significantly in patients (p<0.05) and caregivers (p<0.001), as did the patients' perception of quality of palliative care (POS, p<0.001), while the caregivers' psychological distress and burden of care significantly decreased (HADS, p<0.001; HPS, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The involvement of an SOPC team leads to a significant improvement in the quality of life of patients and caregivers and can lower the burden of home care for the caregivers of severely ill patients.
Authors: Lissi Hansen; Karen S Lyons; Nathan F Dieckmann; Michael F Chang; Shirin Hiatt; Emma Solanki; Christopher S Lee Journal: Res Nurs Health Date: 2017-06-30 Impact factor: 2.228
Authors: Erica C Kaye; Jonathan Jerkins; Courtney A Gushue; Samantha DeMarsh; April Sykes; Zhaohua Lu; Jennifer M Snaman; Lindsay Blazin; Liza-Marie Johnson; Deena R Levine; R Ray Morrison; Justin N Baker Journal: J Pain Symptom Manage Date: 2018-02-08 Impact factor: 3.612
Authors: Matthias Seibl-Leven; Christian von Reeken; Roland Goldbrunner; Stefan Grau; Maximilian Ingolf Ruge; Norbert Galldiks; Veronika Dunkl; Martin Kocher; Raymond Voltz; Heidrun Golla Journal: J Neurooncol Date: 2018-02-20 Impact factor: 4.130
Authors: Erica C Kaye; Courtney A Gushue; Samantha DeMarsh; Jonathan Jerkins; April Sykes; Zhaohua Lu; Jennifer M Snaman; Lindsay Blazin; Liza-Marie Johnson; Deena R Levine; R Ray Morrison; Justin N Baker Journal: Pediatr Blood Cancer Date: 2017-12-08 Impact factor: 3.167
Authors: Bella S Ehrlich; Narine Movsisyan; Tsetsegsaikhan Batmunkh; Ella Kumirova; Marina V Borisevich; Kirill Kirgizov; Dylan E Graetz; Michael J McNeil; Taisiya Yakimkova; Anna Vinitsky; Gia Ferrara; Chen Li; Zhaohua Lu; Erica C Kaye; Justin N Baker; Asya Agulnik Journal: Cancer Date: 2020-06-12 Impact factor: 6.860
Authors: Andrea Cuviello; Jessica C Raisanen; Pamela K Donohue; Lori Wiener; Renee D Boss Journal: J Pain Symptom Manage Date: 2019-12-12 Impact factor: 3.612