Manuela Partinico1, Alice Corà2, Marta Ghisi3, Allison J Ouimet4, Marco Visentin5. 1. Psychology Unit, San Bortolo Hospital, Vicenza, Italy. Electronic address: psic.terapiadolore@ulssvicenza.it. 2. Psychology Unit, San Bortolo Hospital, Vicenza, Italy. 3. Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padua, Italy. 4. Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 5. Pain Therapy and Palliative Care Unit, San Bortolo Hospital, Vicenza, Italy.
Abstract
CONTEXT: Caregiver satisfaction with palliative care is a crucial indicator of its effectiveness. In light of the lack of validated or reliable Italian instruments, the Post Mortem Questionnaire-Short Form (QPM-SF), a self-report questionnaire, has been developed to assess home and inpatient hospice care. OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of QPM-SF and assess for differences in quality of palliative care between hospice and home care settings. METHODS: A total of 584 caregivers of terminal cancer patients completed QPM-SF one month after the death of the care recipient. To assess test-retest reliability, a subgroup of 50 caregivers completed the questionnaire a second time, one month later. RESULTS: QPM-SF showed good internal consistency and temporal stability and a four-factor structure: "Integrated home care," "Hospice," "Physical care-Information-Global evaluation," and "Needs." CONCLUSION: QPM-SF may be considered a valid, reliable, and well-accepted self-report instrument for examining and implementing palliative care interventions.
CONTEXT: Caregiver satisfaction with palliative care is a crucial indicator of its effectiveness. In light of the lack of validated or reliable Italian instruments, the Post Mortem Questionnaire-Short Form (QPM-SF), a self-report questionnaire, has been developed to assess home and inpatient hospice care. OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of QPM-SF and assess for differences in quality of palliative care between hospice and home care settings. METHODS: A total of 584 caregivers of terminal cancerpatients completed QPM-SF one month after the death of the care recipient. To assess test-retest reliability, a subgroup of 50 caregivers completed the questionnaire a second time, one month later. RESULTS: QPM-SF showed good internal consistency and temporal stability and a four-factor structure: "Integrated home care," "Hospice," "Physical care-Information-Global evaluation," and "Needs." CONCLUSION: QPM-SF may be considered a valid, reliable, and well-accepted self-report instrument for examining and implementing palliative care interventions.