Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39629728›Full record

ArticlePalliative medicine2025

A core outcome set for best care for the dying person: Results of an international Delphi study and consensus meeting.

Sofia C Zambrano, Martina Egloff, Valentina Gonzalez-Jaramillo, Andri Christen-Cevallos Rosero, Simon Allan, Pilar Barnestein-Fonseca, John Ellershaw, Claudia Fischer, Dagny Faksvåg Haugen, Urška Lunder and 13 more

Abstract readConsensus Statement
In one paragraph

Article in Palliative medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

23 authors.

Sofia C ZambranoInstitute of Social and Preventive Medicine, ISPM, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-0918-9722
Martina EgloffUniversity Center for Palliative Care, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
Valentina Gonzalez-JaramilloUniversity Center for Palliative Care, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-2470-7022
Andri Christen-Cevallos RoseroUniversity Center for Palliative Care, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
Simon AllanArohanui Hospice, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Pilar Barnestein-FonsecaCUDECA Institute for Training and Research in Palliative Care, CUDECA Hospice Foundation, Malaga, Spain.
John EllershawPalliative Care Unit, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Claudia FischerDepartment of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria.ORCID 0000-0001-7574-8097
Dagny Faksvåg HaugenDepartment of Clinical Medicine K1, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Urška LunderUniversity Clinic of Pulmonary and Allergic Diseases Golnik, Golnik, Slovenia.
Marisa Martin-RoselloCUDECA Institute for Training and Research in Palliative Care, CUDECA Hospice Foundation, Malaga, Spain.
Stephen MasonPalliative Care Unit, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Birgit RasmussenThe Institute of Palliative Care, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Valgerdur SigurðardóttirPalliative Care Unit, Landspitali-National University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Judt SimonDepartment of Health Economics, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria.
Vilma A TripodoroPallium Latinoamérica, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Agnes van der HeideDepartment of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Lia van ZuylenDepartment of Medical Oncology, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Raymond VoltzDepartment of Palliative Care, Universitätsklinikum Köln (AöR), Köln, Germany.
Carl Johan FürstThe Institute of Palliative Care, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Paula R WilliamsonDepartment of Health Data Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Steffen EychmüllerUniversity Center for Palliative Care, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0003-1734-2237
iLIVE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOutcome measurement is essential to progress clinical practice and improve patient care.

aimTo develop a Core Outcome Set for best care for the dying person.

designWe followed the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) Initiative guidelines, which involved identifying potential outcomes via a systematic literature review (n = 619 papers) and from participants in the "iLIVE" project (10 countries: 101 patients, 37 family members, 63 clinicians), followed by a two-round Delphi study, and a consensus meeting. SETTING/

participantsClinicians, researchers, family members, and patient representatives from 20 countries participated in the Delphi Rounds 1 (n = 462) and 2 (n = 355). Thirty-two participants attended the consensus meeting.

resultsFrom the systematic review and the cohort study we identified 256 and 238 outcomes respectively, from which we extracted a 52-outcome list covering areas related to the patients' physical, psychosocial, and spiritual dimensions, family support, place of care and care delivery, relational aspects of care, and general concepts. A preliminary 13-outcome list reached consensus during the Delphi. At the consensus meeting, a 14-item Core Outcome Set was ratified by the participants.

conclusionsThis study involved a large and diverse sample of key stakeholders in defining the core outcome set for best care for the dying person, focusing on the last days of life. By actively integrating the perspectives of family carers and patient representatives from various cultural backgrounds this Core Outcome Set enriches our understanding of essential elements of care for the dying and provides a solid foundation for advancing quality of end-of-life care.

Indexed as

Delphi TechniqueOutcome Assessment, Health CareTerminal CareAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle Agedcore outcome setDelphi methodpalliative carequality of careterminal care

Identifiers

PMID39629728
PMCPMC11673312

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.