Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29893776›Full record

ArticleAge and ageing2018

Quality of primary palliative care for older people with mild and severe dementia: an international mortality follow-back study using quality indicators.

Rose Miranda, Yolanda W H Penders, Tinne Smets, Luc Deliens, Guido Miccinesi, Tomás Vega Alonso, Sarah Moreels, Lieve Van den Block

Abstract readComparative StudyMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Age and ageing, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Observational
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

8 authors.

Rose MirandaEnd-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Yolanda W H PendersEnd-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Tinne SmetsEnd-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Luc DeliensEnd-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.
Guido MiccinesiClinical and Descriptive Epidemiology Unit, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute, Florence, Italy.
Tomás Vega AlonsoPublic Health Directorate, Regional Ministry of Health (Dirección General de Salud Pública, Consellería de Sanidad), Castile and Leon, Valladolid, Spain.
Sarah MoreelsScientific Institute of Public Health (Wetenschappelijk Instituut Volksgezondheid, Institut Scientifique de Santé Publique), Unit of Health Services Research, Brussels, Belgium.
Lieve Van den BlockEnd-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) & Ghent University, Brussels, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: measuring the quality of primary palliative care for older people with dementia in different countries is important to identify areas where improvements can be made. Objective: using quality indicators (QIs), we systematically investigated the overall quality of primary palliative care for older people with dementia in three different countries. Design/setting: a mortality follow-back survey through nation- and region-wide representative Sentinel Networks of General Practitioners (GPs) in Belgium, Italy and Spain. GPs registered all patient deaths in their practice. We applied a set of nine QIs developed through literature review and expert consensus. Subjects: patients aged 65 or older, who died non-suddenly with mild or severe dementia as judged by GPs (n = 874). Results: findings showed significantly different QI scores between Belgium and Italy for regular pain measurement (mild dementia: BE = 44%, IT = 12%, SP = 50% | severe dementia: BE = 41%, IT = 9%, SP = 47%), acceptance of approaching death (mild: BE = 59%, IT = 48%, SP = 33% | severe: BE = 41%, IT = 21%, SP = 20%), patient-GP communication about illness (mild: BE = 42%, IT = 6%, SP = 20%) and involvement of specialised palliative services (mild: BE = 60%, IT = 20%, SP = 77%). The scores in Belgium differed from Italy and Spain for patient-GP communication about medical treatments (mild: BE = 34%, IT = 12%, SP = 4%) and repeated multidisciplinary consultations (mild: BE = 39%, IT = 5%, SP = 8% | severe: BE = 36%, IT = 10%, SP = 8%). The scores for relative-GP communication, patient death outside hospitals and bereavement counselling did not differ between countries. Conclusion: while the countries studied differed considerably in the overall quality of primary palliative care, they have similarities in room for improvement, in particular, pain measurement and prevention of avoidable hospitalisations.

Indexed as

CognitionAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsAgingCause of DeathDementiaEuropeFemaleHealthcare DisparitiesHumansMalePalliative CarePrimary Health CareQuality ImprovementQuality Indicators, Health Care

Identifiers

PMID29893776
PMCPMC6201823

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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.