Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40186227›Full record

ArticleBMC palliative care2025

Defining "early palliative care" for adults diagnosed with a life-limiting illness: a scoping review.

Colleen E Kircher, Timothy P Hanna, Joan Tranmer, Craig E Goldie, Amanda Ross-White, Elizabeth Moulton, Jack Flegal, Catherine L Goldie

Abstract readScoping Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC palliative care, 2025. 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
–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

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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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

8 authors.

Colleen E KircherSchool of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Cataraqui Building, 92 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada. 8cem14@queensu.ca.
Timothy P HannaDivision of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, Cancer Research Institute, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Joan TranmerSchool of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Cataraqui Building, 92 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada.
Craig E GoldieDivision of Palliative Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Amanda Ross-WhiteQueen's Collaboration for Health Care Quality, A JBI Centre of Excellence, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Elizabeth MoultonSchool of Nursing, St. Lawrence College, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Jack FlegalSchool of Nursing, St. Lawrence College, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Catherine L GoldieSchool of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Cataraqui Building, 92 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada.

Funding

Ontario Institute for Cancer Research IA-035
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPalliative care is for people suffering from life-limiting illnesses that focuses on providing relief from symptoms and stress of illness. Previous studies have demonstrated that specialist palliative care consultation delivered earlier in the disease process can enhance patients' quality of life, reduce their symptom burden, reduce use of hospital-based acute care services and extend their survival. However, various definitions exist for the term early palliative care (EPC).

objectiveTo investigate how EPC has been defined in the literature for adults with life- limiting illnesses.

methodsThis review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines and follows the Joanna Briggs Institution methodology for scoping reviews. The literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection, Ovid Cochrane Library, and ProQuest (Health and Medicine and Sociology Collections). All articles retrieved were screened by three independent reviewers.

results153 articles met the inclusion criteria between 2008 and 2024. Five categories of definitions for EPC were created to organize definitions: (1) time-based (e.g. time from advanced cancer diagnosis to EPC initiation); (2) prognosis-based (e.g. prognosis or the 'surprise question'); (3) location-based (e.g. access point within the healthcare system such as outpatient setting); (4) treatment-based (e.g. physician's judgement or prior to specific therapies); and (5) symptom-based (e.g. using symptom intensity questionnaires). Many studies included patients with cancer (n = 103), with the most common definition category being time-based (n = 53). Amongst studies focusing on multiple or non-cancer diagnoses (n = 50), the most common definition category was symptom-based (n = 16).

conclusionOur findings provide a useful reference point for those seeking to understand the scope and breadth of existing EPC definitions in cancer and non-cancer illnesses and contemplate their application within clinical practice.

Indexed as

Palliative CareAdultHumansQuality of LifeCancerChronic illness, scoping review.Early palliative careLife-limiting illness

Identifiers

PMID40186227
PMCPMC11969749

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.