China ; Hospice Care ; organization & administration ; standards ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a hospice / palliative care performance measure which would cover more than just physical symptoms or quality of life. METHODS: Through an intensive literature review, the author chose questions that measured aspects of physical, emotional, spiritual, social, or practical domains pertinent to hospice / palliative care for inclusion in the scale. Content validation of the questions was established by 15 hospice / palliative care professionals. A preliminary Hospice Palliative Care Performance Scale (HPCPS) of 20 questions was administered to 134 pairs of terminal cancer patients from 5 hospice palliative care units and their main family caregiver. A validation study was conducted to evaluate construct validity and internal consistency. RESULTS: Factor analysis showed 14 significant questions in five subscales; Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, Social, and Patient' rights. There were no significant differences between the ratings by patients and family members except for three out of the 14 questions. The measure demonstrated construct validity, and Cronbach's alpha of the subscales ranged from .73 to .79. CONCLUSION: The HPCOS demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. It can be used to assess effectiveness of hospice / palliative care for terminal cancer patients in practice and research.
Aged ; Caregivers/psychology ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Hospice Care/*standards ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care)/standards ; Palliative Care/*standards ; Program Development ; Questionnaires

As the Korean government's recognition of the importance of hospice service grows, the government has initiated a variety of hospice services in Korea. Each hospice organization has shown a significant difference in its health care delivery methods, constitution and care content. Developing a clinical protocol is essential for establishing standardized hospice services. A preliminary protocol was drawn up by examining the records of terminal patients (n=541) in a home hospice organization while elucidating the health problems as well as classifying them through the Home Health Care Classification (HHCC), and by reviewing the relevant nursing interventions and medical treatments in the literature concerning the clinical protocols. Korea's leading hospice specialty groups participated in four rounds of content validity verification processes in order to establish a protocol. A guideline was developed through a team approach, integrating the opinions of doctors, nurses, ministers, volunteers, patients' families, nutritionists and pharmacists. Eighteen health problems and a total of 223 interventions (173 major treatments and nursing interventions, and 50 optional interventions) were included in the final clinical protocol. This study is expected to contribute to the overall qualitative improvement of home hospice care and the subsequent shortening of documentation time. Evaluation tools and a regulatory feedback system need to be developed in order to maintain consistent evaluation procedures based on the continuous promotion and use of the protocol.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Clinical Protocols/standards ; Female ; Home Care Services/*organization & administration/standards ; Hospice Care/*organization & administration/standards ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Practice Guidelines ; Program Development ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Terminal Care/*organization & administration/standards