End-of-life management protocol offered within emergency room (EMPOWER): study protocol for a multicentre study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patients at their end-of-life (EOL) phase frequently visit the emergency department (ED) due to their symptoms, yet the environment and physicians in ED are not traditionally equipped or trained to provide palliative care. This multicentre study aims to measure the current quality of EOL care in ED to identify gaps, formulate improvements and implement the improved EOL care protocol. We shall also evaluate healthcare resource utilisation and its associated costs.

Methods and analysis

This study employs a quasiexperimental interrupted time series design using both qualitative and quantitative methods, involving the EDs of three tertiary hospitals in Singapore, over a period of 3 years. There are five phases in this study: (1) retrospective chart reviews of patients

SUBMITTER: Yash Pal R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7213875 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature