Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36878652›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2023

Impact of COVID-19 on care at the end of life during the first months of the pandemic from the perspective of healthcare professionals from different settings: a qualitative interview study (the CO-LIVE study).

Masha S Zee, Lotje Bagchus, Yvonne N Becqué, Erica Witkamp, Agnes van der Heide, Liza G G van Lent, Anne Goossensen, Ida J Korfage, Bregje D Onwuteaka-Philipsen, H Roeline Pasman

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
5.2field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

10 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Masha S ZeeDepartment of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands m.zee@amsterdamumc.nl.ORCID 0000-0002-7937-5854
Lotje BagchusDepartment of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.
Yvonne N BecquéResearch Center Innovations in Care, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Erica WitkampResearch Center Innovations in Care, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Agnes van der HeideDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.
Liza G G van LentMedical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands.
Anne GoossensenUniversity of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Ida J KorfagePublic Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Bregje D Onwuteaka-PhilipsenDepartment of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.
H Roeline PasmanDepartment of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam UMC Locatie VUmc, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.
Amsterdam University Medical Centers · NLErasmus MC · NLErasmus MC Cancer Institute · NLNuVue Therapeutics (United States) · USUniversity of Humanistic Studies · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe objective of this study is to better understand how the COVID-19 outbreak impacted the different domains of the palliative care approach to end-of-life care from the perspective of healthcare professionals (HCPs) from different professions, working in different settings during the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak in the Netherlands.

methodsAn in-depth qualitative interview study among 16 HCPs of patients who died between March and July 2020 in different healthcare settings in the Netherlands. The HCPs were recruited through an online survey about end-of-life care. Maximum variation sampling was used. Data were analysed following the principles of thematic analysis.

resultsSeveral aspects impacted the quality of the palliative care approach to care at the end of life. First, COVID-19 was a new disease and this led to challenges in the physical domain of end-of-life care, for example, a lack of knowledge on how to manage symptoms and an unreliable clinical view. Second, the high workload HCPs experienced impacted the quality of end-of-life care, especially in the emotional, social and spiritual domains, since they only had time for urgent, physical care. Third, COVID-19 is a contagious disease and measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus hampered care for both patients and relatives. For example, because of the visiting restrictions, HCPs were not able to provide emotional support to relatives. Finally, the COVID-19 outbreak also had a potentially positive impact in the longer term, for example, more awareness of advance care planning and the importance of end-of-life care that includes all the domains.

conclusionThe palliative care approach, which is key to good end-of-life care, was often negatively influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, predominantly in the emotional, social and spiritual domains. This was related to a focus on essential physical care and prevention of the spread of COVID-19.

Indexed as

COVID-19Terminal CareDeathHumansPandemicsQualitative ResearchCOVID-19End-of-life CarePalliative CareQualitative ResearchQuality of Care

Identifiers

PMID36878652
PMCPMC9990162
OpenAlexW4323347940

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.