Palliative needs of geriatric patients
DEUTSCHE MEDIZINISCHE WOCHENSCHRIFT
Authors: Heusinger von Waldegg, Gernot; Pfisterer, Mathias
Abstract
In Germany, the group of geriatric patients is the biggest part of all decedents. That is the reason why the medical staff, who is taking care of elderly patients, needs not only curative, rehabilitative and preventive competencies but also palliative skills. Recently, three guidelines were published (national guideline palliative care for patients with incurable cancer diseases, national guideline pain assessment in resident homes and German guideline geriatric assessment level 2). These three guidelines are useful for the detection of partial aspects in special palliative needs and make recommendations for the alleviation of suffering. However, there is no tool for the identification of palliative needs of geriatric inpatients in emergency rooms and in other places in the hospitals. In primary care, the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) is available for this purpose.
Early integration of palliative care: translation, cross-cultural adaptation and content validity of the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool in a Swedish healthcare context
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF CARING SCIENCES
Authors: Pham, Lotta; Arnby, Maria; Benkel, Inger; Jonsson, Patrik Dahlqvist; Kallstrannd, Jeanette; Molander, Ulla; Ziegert, Kristina
Abstract
Background Timely identification of patients with palliative care needs is a prerequisite for being able to carry out effective and equal palliative care. The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) identifies patients likely to benefit from a palliative approach. Aim The main objective was to describe the translation, cross-cultural adaptation and content validation process of the SPICT-SE. In this process, the prefinal SPICT-SE was tested in focus group interviews to explore how the tool was perceived and interpreted by healthcare professionals in a Swedish healthcare context. Methods In this qualitative descriptive study, the translation, cross-cultural adaptation and content validation process of the SPICT-SE was based on a recommended method for cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. The process included two independent forward translations, a synthesis, and one independent back-translation. An expert committee consolidated all the versions and developed the prefinal version of the SPICT-SE. The prefinal version of the SPICT-SE was tested in four focus group interviews with physicians and nurses engaged in inpatient or outpatient care in south-west Sweden. A thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed. The SPICT-SE was then revised to the final version. Results In the thematic analysis, four themes were constructed that together described how the SPICT-SE was perceived and interpreted by healthcare professionals: The mindset is familiar and relevant; the tool needs to be adjusted in order to be clearer; the purpose and consequences of the tool are ambiguous; and the tool supports a palliative approach. Conclusion The SPICT-SE has now been successfully translated, culturally adapted and content validated in a Swedish healthcare context.