Junwen Yang-Huang1, Ascensión Doñate-Martínez2, Jorge Garcés2, Maria Soledad Gimenez Campos3, Raquel Valcarcel Romero4, Maria-Eugenia Gas López4, Adriano Fernandes5, Mariana Camacho5, Ana Gama5, Sofia Reppou6, Panagiotis D Bamidis6, Gordon Linklater7, Frances Hines8, Jude Eze9, Hein Raat10. 1. Department of Public Health, Erasmus Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, 3000, Rotterdam, CA, Netherlands. 2. Polibienestar Research Institute, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. 3. The University and Polytechnic La Fe Hospital of Valencia, 46026, Valencia, Spain. 4. The Medical Research Institute of the Hospital La Fe, 46026, Valencia, Spain. 5. Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora (SCMA), Amadora, Portugal. 6. Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation; and Special Unit for Biomedical Research and Education, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece. 7. NHS Highland / Highland Hospice, Inverness, UK. 8. NHS Highand, Inverness, UK. 9. Department of Veterinary and Animal Science, Northern Faculty, Scotland's Rural College, Inverness, UK. 10. Department of Public Health, Erasmus Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, 3000, Rotterdam, CA, Netherlands. h.raat@erasmusmc.nl.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Palliative care aims to contribute to pain relief, improvement with regard to symptoms and enhancement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with chronic conditions. Most of the palliative care protocols, programmes and units are predominantly focused on patients with cancer and their specific needs. Patients with non-cancer chronic conditions may also have significantly impaired HRQoL and poor survival, but do not yet receive appropriate and holistic care. The traditional focus of palliative care has been at the end-of-life stages instead of the relatively early phases of serious chronic conditions. The 'Patient-centred pathways of early palliative care, supportive ecosystems and appraisal standard' (InAdvance) project implements and evaluates early palliative care in the daily clinical routine addressing patients with complex chronic conditions in the evolution towards advanced stages. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this novel model of palliative care in the relatively early phases in patients with chronic conditions. METHODS: In this study, a single blind randomised controlled trial design will be employed. A total of 320 participants (80 in each study site and 4 sites in total) will be randomised on a 1:1 basis to the Palliative Care Needs Assessment (PCNA) arm or the Care-as-Usual arm. This study includes a formative evaluation approach as well as a cost-effectiveness analysis with a within-trial horizon. Study outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months after the implementation of the interventions. Study outcomes include HRQoL, intensity of symptoms, functional status, emotional distress, caregiving burden, perceived quality of care, adherence to treatment, feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of the intervention, intervention costs, other healthcare costs and informal care costs. DISCUSSION: The InAdvance project will evaluate the effect of the implementation of the PCNA intervention on the target population in terms of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in four European settings. The evidence of the project will provide step-wise guidance to contribute an increased evidence base for policy recommendations and clinical guidelines, in an effort to augment the supportive ecosystem for palliative care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN, ISRCTN24825698 . Registered 17/12/2020.
BACKGROUND: Palliative care aims to contribute to pain relief, improvement with regard to symptoms and enhancement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with chronic conditions. Most of the palliative care protocols, programmes and units are predominantly focused on patients with cancer and their specific needs. Patients with non-cancer chronic conditions may also have significantly impaired HRQoL and poor survival, but do not yet receive appropriate and holistic care. The traditional focus of palliative care has been at the end-of-life stages instead of the relatively early phases of serious chronic conditions. The 'Patient-centred pathways of early palliative care, supportive ecosystems and appraisal standard' (InAdvance) project implements and evaluates early palliative care in the daily clinical routine addressing patients with complex chronic conditions in the evolution towards advanced stages. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this novel model of palliative care in the relatively early phases in patients with chronic conditions. METHODS: In this study, a single blind randomised controlled trial design will be employed. A total of 320 participants (80 in each study site and 4 sites in total) will be randomised on a 1:1 basis to the Palliative Care Needs Assessment (PCNA) arm or the Care-as-Usual arm. This study includes a formative evaluation approach as well as a cost-effectiveness analysis with a within-trial horizon. Study outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months after the implementation of the interventions. Study outcomes include HRQoL, intensity of symptoms, functional status, emotional distress, caregiving burden, perceived quality of care, adherence to treatment, feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of the intervention, intervention costs, other healthcare costs and informal care costs. DISCUSSION: The InAdvance project will evaluate the effect of the implementation of the PCNA intervention on the target population in terms of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in four European settings. The evidence of the project will provide step-wise guidance to contribute an increased evidence base for policy recommendations and clinical guidelines, in an effort to augment the supportive ecosystem for palliative care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN, ISRCTN24825698 . Registered 17/12/2020.
Authors: G E Caughey; E N Ramsay; A I Vitry; A L Gilbert; M A Luszcz; P Ryan; E E Roughead Journal: J Epidemiol Community Health Date: 2009-10-23 Impact factor: 3.710
Authors: Alexi A Wright; Baohui Zhang; Alaka Ray; Jennifer W Mack; Elizabeth Trice; Tracy Balboni; Susan L Mitchell; Vicki A Jackson; Susan D Block; Paul K Maciejewski; Holly G Prigerson Journal: JAMA Date: 2008-10-08 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Karen Barnett; Stewart W Mercer; Michael Norbury; Graham Watt; Sally Wyke; Bruce Guthrie Journal: Lancet Date: 2012-05-10 Impact factor: 79.321