Objective: The effectiveness of palliative care for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has not been fully validated. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of palliative care interventions on ALS patients using the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on ALS patients at National Hospital Organization Yamagata National Hospital who received interventions from the palliative care team between November 2020 and December 2022 and were proxy-evaluated using IPOS. Results: Eleven patients were included in the analysis. Before and after the palliative care team intervention, the total IPOS score improved significantly from 24 to 18.9 (p=0.032), and the score for “Have you felt at peace” improved from 2 to 1 (p=0.031). Conclusion: Palliative care interventions may help alleviate suffering in ALS patients. However, further studies with larger sample sizes and long-term observational research are required to confirm these findings.

Purpose: Integrated care pathway (ICP) is structured multidisciplinary care plan that aim to improve the quality of care. ICP could be effective in providing quality End-of-Life (EOL) care in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). However, the outcomes and components of ICP for EOL care in LTCFs are not clear. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to identify the outcomes and components. We searched electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Ichushi) and conducted an additional hand search for relevant journal articles related to EOL care. We searched intervention and implementation studies for ICP in EOL care in LTCFs. Results: Thirteen papers met the inclusion criteria. We identified the following components of ICP: documents, education regarding EOL care and ICP, support by experts, and regular conferences among care providers. The effects of ICP were reported as reductions in transfers to hospitals and improvement in staff confidence regarding EOL care. Conclusion: With reference to the components of ICP identified in this study, ICP should be developed based on the characteristics of LTCFs, and the effects of intervention or implementation studies using a more robust design should be examined.