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Open Access 01-12-2018 | Study protocol

Study protocol: evaluation of specialized outpatient palliative care in the German state of Hesse (ELSAH study) – work package I: assessing the quality of care

Authors: Katrin Kuss, Hannah Seipp, Dorothée Becker, Stefan Bösner, Antje Erler, Dania Gruber, Michaela Hach, Lisa R Ulrich, Jörg Haasenritter

Published in: BMC Palliative Care | Issue 1/2018

Abstract

Background

In Germany, patients suffering from life-limiting conditions are eligible for specialized outpatient palliative care (SOPC). Evaluation of the quality of this service lacks currently integration of patient-relevant outcomes. There is also no scientific consensus how to prove quality of care in the special context of SOPC adequately. Existing quality reports are primarily based on descriptive structural data which do not allow for estimation of process quality or result quality. The ELSAH study (‘Evaluation of Specialized Outpatient Palliative Care in the German state of Hesse’) aims to choose - or, if necessary, to adopt - to evaluate and to implement a suit of measures to assess, evaluate and monitor the quality of specialized, home-based palliative care.

Methods

All 22 SOPC teams providing their services in the state of Hesse, Germany, participate in the ELSAH study. The study is divided in two phases: a preparation phase and a main study phase. Based on the findings of the preparation phase we have chosen a preliminary set of instruments including the Integrated Palliative Outcome Scale, Views on Care, Zarit Burden Interview, Phase of Illness, Goal Attainment Scaling, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status, Consumer Quality Indices Palliative Care and Sense of Security in Care. During the main study phase, we will use a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the instruments’ psychometric properties (reliability, validity, feasibility and practicability), to identify barriers, facilitators and limitations of their routine use and to explore how their use affects the care within the SOPC setting.

Discussion

At the end of this study, an outcome- and patient-centered, validated measurement approach should be provided, adapted for standardized evaluations in SOPC across patient groups, palliative care services and regions nationwide. The standardized application of instruments should allow for making valid statements and comparisons of health care quality in SOPC based on process- and outcome-evaluation rather than relying on structural data only. Moreover, the instruments might directly influence the care of patients in palliative situations.

Trial registration

German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS-ID: DRKS00012421).

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Title: Study protocol: evaluation of specialized outpatient palliative care in the German state of Hesse (ELSAH study) – work package I: assessing the quality of care
Authors: Katrin Kuss
Hannah Seipp
Dorothée Becker
Stefan Bösner
Antje Erler
Dania Gruber
Michaela Hach
Lisa R Ulrich
Jörg Haasenritter
Publication date: 01-12-2018
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Palliative Care / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1472-684X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-018-0363-8

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Study protocol: evaluation of specialized outpatient palliative care in the German state of Hesse (ELSAH study) – work package I: assessing the quality of care

Abstract

Background

Methods

Discussion

Trial registration

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Abstract

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