Training GPs in Anticipatory Palliative Care Planning
Training GPs in Anticipatory Palliative Care Planning
This study shows that the design we chose was not completely compatible with an intervention that combined identification of patients in need of palliative care and anticipatory care planning. Only a portion of the eligible patients had been identified, and in this subgroup a post-hoc analysis showed positive effects of having identified patients as in need of palliative care and providing anticipatory palliative care. For that reason, the absence of differences between the entire intervention and control group does not show a failure of anticipatory palliative care; it reflects a low number of identified patients.
We have used the insights from this study to adapt our methodology and to ensure that patients are timely identified as in need of palliative care. These adaptations are currently being applied in a prospective study on proactive supportive care in patients with COPD. Patients are recruited by the attending specialist at the moment of hospitalization for an acute exacerbation COPD, palliative care is provided by a dedicated hospital palliative care team, and the primary outcome is quality of life.
Conclusions
This study shows that the design we chose was not completely compatible with an intervention that combined identification of patients in need of palliative care and anticipatory care planning. Only a portion of the eligible patients had been identified, and in this subgroup a post-hoc analysis showed positive effects of having identified patients as in need of palliative care and providing anticipatory palliative care. For that reason, the absence of differences between the entire intervention and control group does not show a failure of anticipatory palliative care; it reflects a low number of identified patients.
We have used the insights from this study to adapt our methodology and to ensure that patients are timely identified as in need of palliative care. These adaptations are currently being applied in a prospective study on proactive supportive care in patients with COPD. Patients are recruited by the attending specialist at the moment of hospitalization for an acute exacerbation COPD, palliative care is provided by a dedicated hospital palliative care team, and the primary outcome is quality of life.