ArticleBJGP open2021
Where do GPs find patients with possible palliative care needs? A cross-sectional descriptive study.
Article in BJGP open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Beyond hospice: the burden of palliative care needs in hospitals and long-term care facilities. A nationwide multicenter study.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2026Observational
- General practitioners and palliative care practices: a better knowledge of specific services is still needed.BMC health services research · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundFor GPs to implement early palliative care, the first step is to identify patients with palliative care needs. The surprise question (SQ) is a screening tool that aims to aid this identification; for example, a response of 'no' to the SQ - 'Would you be surprised if this patient would die within a year?' - would suggest palliative care may be needed.
aimTo describe setting-specific screening results of patients eligible for early palliative care in family practices, which is defined as patients aged DESIGN &
settingA secondary analysis was undertaken using a cross-sectional descriptive study in family practices in five areas in Belgium.
methodGPs were recruited by targeted sampling. As a first part of an implementation research project, participating GPs provided demographic information about themselves and also provided a response to the SQ for all patients who came to the practice in 10 consecutive office days. A summary table describing the sex, age, location of contact (GP surgeries, patients' homes, or nursing homes) of the patients was provided by each GP.
resultsFifty-six GPs provided complete data for the practice summary tables. In total, 9150 patients were described (all ages, all settings), of which 506 patients (6%) had a GP response of 'no' to the SQ. The distribution of SQ-no-as-answer patients per setting was: 152/7659 (2%) patients seen in family practice surgeries; 139/998 (14%) patients seen in their homes; and 215/493 (44%) patients seen in nursing homes.
conclusionThere was a large number of patients with SQ-no-as-answer, with possible palliative care needs. To enhance implementation of early palliative care, future research should compare results of SQ and other screening tools with palliative care symptoms assessments.
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