Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20885302›Full record

Trial reportCancer nursing

Improving hospice outcomes through systematic assessment: a clinical trial.

Susan C McMillan, Brent J Small, William E Haley

Abstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled TrialValidation Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Cancer nursing. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Informal caregiving of hospice patients.Journal of palliative medicine · 2014
    Pooled it
  7. Hospice caregiver depression: the evidence surrounding the greatest pain of all.Journal of social work in end-of-life & palliative care · 2013
    Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Neuropathic symptoms, physical and emotional well-being, and quality of life at the end of life.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019
    Article
  14. Symptom Clusters and Quality of Life in Hospice Patients with CancerAsian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP · 2017
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Relationship with God, Loneliness, Anger and Symptom Distress in Patients with Cancer Who are Near the End of Life.Journal of hospice and palliative nursing : JHPN : the official journal of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association · 2014
    Article
  17. Pain: a descriptive study in patients with cancer.Clinical journal of oncology nursing · 2014
    Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Susan C McMillanCollege of Nursing, Center for Hospice, Center for Hospice, Palliative Care and End of Life Studies at USF, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA. smcmilla@health.usf.edu
Brent J Small
William E Haley
University of South Florida · US

Funding

Systematic Assessment to Improve Hospice OutcomesR01NR008252 · NINR · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA · PI MCMILLAN, SUSAN C · 2004 to 2007
$1.6M
NINR NIH HHS 5R01NR008252NINR NIH HHS R01 NR008252
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSystematic assessment is vital to palliative care, but documentation confirming completion of systematic assessment in hospice settings is often inadequate or absent.

objectiveThe objective of the study was to determine the efficacy of systematic feedback from standardized assessment tools for hospice patient-caregiver dyads in improving hospice outcomes compared with the usual clinical practice. INTERVENTIONS/

methodsThe sample of patients (n = 709) newly admitted to hospice home care in 2 hospices had designated family caregivers. The interdisciplinary teams (IDTs) caring for these dyads were randomly assigned to either experimental (n = 338) or control (n = 371) conditions. Data were collected from both groups of dyads using standardized assessments on admission and 1 week after each of the first 2 IDT meetings in which these dyads were discussed. The experimental intervention consisted of reporting data from the standardized assessments to the IDTs.

resultsResults showed improved patient depression (P < .001) as a result of the intervention and improvement in both groups in patients' quality of life (P < .001). No other patient outcomes (symptom distress, spiritual needs) or caregiver outcomes (depression, support, spiritual needs) were significantly different.

conclusionsAssessment of depression added to usual care probably had an effect because it is not normally a focus of hospice staff. Hospice care was so good during the study that overall quality of life improved as a result of standard care and left little room for improvement in other variables. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Systematic assessment of depression is needed in hospice patients. No caregiver variables changed, which may indicate a need for a focus on caregivers.

Indexed as

AgedCaregiversChi-Square DistributionDepressionFemaleHealth Status IndicatorsHospice CareHumansMaleNeoplasmsPsychometricsQuality ControlQuality of LifeReproducibility of ResultsStatistics as TopicSurveys and Questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID20885302
PMCPMC3036771
OpenAlexW2317721057

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.