Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32131822›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2020

Where to enhance rural palliative care? Developing a spatial model to identify suitable communities most in need of service enhancement.

Nadine Schuurman, Michael E Martin, Valorie A Crooks, Ellen Randall

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 25% 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

0 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Nadine SchuurmanGeography Department, Simon Fraser University, Robert C. Brown Hall, 8888 University Road, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada. nadine@sfu.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1362-224X
Michael E MartinUniversity of Auckland, 23 Symonds Street, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand.
Valorie A CrooksGeography Department, Simon Fraser University, Robert C. Brown Hall, 8888 University Road, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada.
Ellen RandallSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada.
Simon Fraser University · CAUniversity of Auckland · NZUniversity of British Columbia · CA

Funding

CIHR DCO150GP
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn Canada, access to palliative care is a growing concern, particularly in rural communities. These communities have constrained health care services and accessing local palliative care can be challenging. The Site Suitability Model (SSM) was developed to identify rural "candidate" communities with need for palliative care services and existing health service capacity that could be enhanced to support a secondary palliative care hub. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of implementing the SSM in Ontario by generating a ranked summary of rural "candidate" communities as potential secondary palliative care hubs.

methodsUsing Census data combined with community-level data, the SSM was applied to assess the suitability of 12 communities as rural secondary palliative care hubs. Scores from 0 to 1 were generated for four equally-weighted components: (1) population as the total population living within a 1-h drive of a candidate community; (2) isolation as travel time from that community to the nearest community with palliative care services; (3) vulnerability as community need based on a palliative care index score; and (4) community readiness as five dimensions of fit between a candidate community and a secondary palliative care hub. Component scores were summed for the SSM score and adjusted to range from 0 to 1.

resultsPopulation scores for the 12 communities ranged widely (0.19-1.00), as did isolation scores (0.16-0.94). Vulnerability scores ranged more narrowly (0.27-0.35), while community readiness scores ranged from 0.4-1.0. These component scores revealed information about each community's particular strengths and weaknesses. Final SSM scores ranged from a low of 0.33 to a high of 0.76.

conclusionsThe SSM was readily implemented in Ontario. Final scores generated a ranked list based on the relative suitability of candidate communities to become secondary palliative care hubs. This list provides information for policy makers to make allocation decisions regarding rural palliative services. The calculation of each community's scores also generates information for local policy makers about how best to provide these services within their communities. The multi-factorial structure of the model enables decision makers to adapt the relative weights of its components.

Indexed as

Health Services Needs and DemandHumansNeeds AssessmentOntarioPalliative CareRural Health ServicesSpatial AnalysisDecision supportPalliative care servicesRuralSpatial modelling

Identifiers

PMID32131822
PMCPMC7057489
OpenAlexW3010519271

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.