Sense of Security With Access to Palliative Outpatient Clinic

Experience of Security Having Access to Specialized Palliative Care Clinic

The aim of the study is to evaluate experience of security, accessibility, and avoidable utilization of health care services in patients who have had access to specialized palliative care clinic (SPCC) compared to those who have not, and to evaluate the relatives' experience of the care.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Cancer

Detailed Description

Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life for patients and families who are affected life-threatening, incurable disease. The concept of palliative care has changed over time and is not longer reserved for patients in the dying phase. More, and more studies show that early integration of palliative care and disease-specific care give positive results. Specifically, palliative care is about prevent and alleviate suffering by early detection of symptoms and treatment of physical, psychological, social and existential problems. In order to provide the best care, a holistic approach is required that takes up what is important right now for the patient, and not focus on only the diagnoses. The care should be person-centred, but it is not entirely clear how this is best achieved.

In an initiative for person-centered care, Palliative care and ASIH, Region Skåne, was the first region in the Sweden to established a new form of care; 'Palliative specialist outpatient clinic' (which was done in 2021). This initiative is a way to support patients who are still receiving disease-specific treatment at their home clinic, which are not specialized in the palliative care needs that may arise. At the same time, the patients do not have that great care needs that they need to be enrolled in specialized palliative care 24/7.

Patients are invited to the study in connection with enrollment at ASiH. All patients who are referred from Palliative specialist reception are consecutively asked about participation in the study. For each patient who previously had contact with the Palliative Specialist Clinic, a patient referred directly from disease-specific care/primary care will be included as to the control group.

Data collection will take place through a self-developed questionnaire where the patient is asked about his experience of security and accessibility in the last 3 months before enrollment in ASiH. Survey questions about safety and accessibility have been chosen as far as possible from among validated questionnaires. If the patient agrees, relatives will also be invited to answer a similar questionnaire. Data on health care consumption, diagnoses and symptoms are collected through Region Skåne's Vårddatabaser and journal review.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Christel Hedman, MD PhD; Email: christel.hedman@ki.se
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sofia Persson, PhD student; Phone Number: +46708652769; Email: sofia.persson@skane.se

Study Locations

• Sweden
  • Lund, Sweden
    • Recruiting
    • ASiH och palliativ vård Skåne
    • Contact: Sofia Persson, PhD-student; Phone Number: +46708652769; Email: sofia.persson@skane.se

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: N/A

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients who have hade access to specialized palliative outpatient clinic. As a control group patients who not have had contact with specialized palliative outpatient clinic woill be included.

Patients with all kind of diagnoses and symtoms that require care at ASiH and specialized palliative outpatient clinic can be included.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients admitted to included ASiH-unit

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with cognitive impairment
• Patients who cannot fill in a questionnaire in Swedish, Arabic or Serbo-Croatian.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Access to Specialized palliative outpatient clinic; Patients who have had access to specialized palliative outpatient clinic before admitted to ASiH

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Experience of security and continuity	Likert scale, 5-point scale where a higher value indicates higher sense of security and continuity.	3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Readmissions to hospital.	Actual numbers of readmission. Data will be collected by Region Skånes Vårddatabaser	3 months
Avoidable care consumption	Actual number of avoidable contacts with health care system (e.g., emergency department). Data will be collected by Region Skånes Vårddatabaser	3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Region Skane
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Maria Schelin, ass.prof, Region Skane

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 14, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 14, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 14, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 26, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 26, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): May 1, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 6, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 3, 2024
• Last Verified: April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Palliative care
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2023-02274-01

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No