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Measuring relatives' perceptions of end-of-life communication with physicians in five countries: a psychometric analysis.

ABSTRACT: The Family Perceptions of Physician-Family Caregiver Communication scale (FPPFC) was developed to assess quality of physician-family end-of-life communication in nursing homes. However, its validity has been tested only in the USA and the Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the FPPFC construct validity and its reliability, as well as the psychometric characteristics of the items comprising the scale. Data were collected in cross-sectional study in Belgium, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. The factorial structure was tested in confirmatory factor analysis. Item parameters were obtained using an item response theory model. Participants were 737 relatives of nursing home residents who died up to 3 months prior to the study. In general, the FPPFC scale proved to be a unidimensional and reliable measure of the perceived quality of physician-family communication in nursing home settings in all five countries. Nevertheless, we found unsatisfactory fit to the data with a confirmatory model. An item that referred to advance care planning performed less well in Poland and Italy than in the Northern European countries. In the item analysis, we found that with no loss of reliability and with increased coherency of the item content across countries, the full 7-item version can be shortened to a 4-item version, which may be more appropriate for international studies. Therefore, we recommend use of the brief 4-item FPPFC version by nursing home managers and professionals as an evaluation tool, and by researchers for their studies as these four items confer the same meaning across countries.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-022-00742-x.

SUBMITTER: Koniewski M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9729495 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Measuring relatives' perceptions of end-of-life communication with physicians in five countries: a psychometric analysis.

Koniewski Maciej M Barańska Ilona I Kijowska Violetta V van der Steen Jenny T JT Wichmann Anne B AB Payne Sheila S Gambassi Giovanni G Van Den Noortgate Nele N Finne-Soveri Harriet H Smets Tinne T Van den Block Lieve L Szczerbińska Katarzyna K

European journal of ageing 20221113 4

<i>The Family Perceptions of Physician-Family Caregiver Communication scale</i> (FPPFC) was developed to assess quality of physician-family end-of-life communication in nursing homes. However, its validity has been tested only in the USA and the Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the FPPFC construct validity and its reliability, as well as the psychometric characteristics of the items comprising the scale. Data were collected in cross-sectional study in Belgium, Finland, Italy, th ...[more]

PMID: 36506660

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Project description:BackgroundEffective communication between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life is vital to ensure patients have a 'good death'. To improve communication, it is important to first identify how this is currently being accomplished.AimTo review qualitative evidence concerning characteristics of communication about prognosis and end-of-life care between healthcare professionals and relatives of patients approaching the end-of-life.DesignQualitative systematic review (PROSPERO registration CRD42017065560) using thematic synthesis. Peer-reviewed, English language articles exploring the content of conversations and how participants communicated were included. No date restrictions were applied. Quality of included studies was appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research.Data sourcesAn electronic database search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and EMBASE was performed.ResultsThirty-one papers were included. Seven themes were identified: highlighting deterioration; involvement in decision-making, post-decision interactional work, tailoring, honesty and clarity, specific techniques for information delivery and roles of different healthcare professionals. Varied levels of family involvement in decision-making were reported. Healthcare professionals used strategies to aid understanding and collaborative decision-making, such as highlighting the patient's deterioration, referring to patient wishes and tailoring information delivery. Doctors were regarded as responsible for discussing prognosis and decision-making, and nurses for providing individualized care.ConclusionFindings suggest training could provide healthcare professionals with these strategies to improve communication. Interventions such as question prompt lists could help relatives overcome barriers to involvement in decision-making. Further research is needed to understand communication with relatives in different settings and with different healthcare professionals.

Project description:Background/objectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in rapid changes to end-of-life care for hospitalized older adults and their families, including visitation restrictions. We examined bereaved families' perceptions of the quality of end-of-life communication among Veterans, families and staff in Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignQualitative descriptive study using data from a survey of bereaved family members of Veterans administered from March-June 2020. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.SettingVA medical centers with the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases during the study period.ParticipantsNext-of-kin of 328 Veterans who died in one of 37 VA medical centers' acute care, intensive care, nursing home, or hospice units.MeasurementsOpen-ended survey questions (response rate = 37%) about family member's perceptions of: (1) communication with the healthcare team about the patient, (2) communication with the patient, and (3) use of remote communication technologies.ResultsBereaved family members identified contextual factors perceived to impact communication quality including: allowing family at the bedside when death is imminent, fears that the patient died alone, and overall perceptions of VA care. Characteristics of perceived high-quality communication included staff availability for remote communication and being kept informed of the patient's condition and plan of care. Low-quality communication with staff was perceived to result from limited access to staff, insufficient updates regarding the patient's condition, and when the family member was not consulted about care decision-making. Communication quality with the patient was facilitated or impeded by the availability and use of video-enabled remote technologies.ConclusionCommunication between patients, families, and healthcare teams at the end of life remains critically important during times of limited in-person visitation. Families report that low-quality communication causes profound distress that can affect the quality of dying and bereavement. Innovative strategies are needed to ensure that high-quality communication occurs despite pandemic-related visitation restrictions.

Project description:ObjectivesTo explore physicians' experiences of the communication with patients and their relatives in the different phases of the palliative pathway.MethodsPurposeful sampling was employed to recruit a total of 13 oncologists and general practitioners who engaged in palliative care. A qualitative study with a narrative approach was conducted. Interviews with physicians working in primary and specialist healthcare were conducted via Skype Business in the spring of 2020. The interview guide had open-ended questions with each interview lasting between 35 and 60 min.ResultsCommunication between the physicians, their patients and their relatives was contextual and changed depending on the phase in the palliative pathway. In the first phase, physicians told us that patients and their relatives experienced an emotional shock. Transitioning from the curative to palliative phase was difficult, which emphasised the need for trust through communication. In the middle phase, they revealed that communication about the death process became the priority: what was probably going to happen, the family's role in what was going to happen and perhaps, depending on the illness, any medical decisions that needed to be made. It was important for the physicians to communicate information about the palliative pathway while providing the relatives with knowledge that facilitated any decision making. In the terminal phase, physicians employed a compassionate approach, as bereaved family members needed to process their feelings of guilt and grief.ConclusionsThe study gives new insight into communication with patients and their relatives during different phases of the palliative pathway, from the physician's perspective. The findings may help physicians improve the quality of communication with patients and their relatives over these vulnerable pathways. The findings also have practical implications in training contexts. The study reveals ethical dilemmas in physicians' communication with patients and their relatives during a palliative pathway.

Project description:BackgroundDuring the past decade, the concept of Lean has spread rapidly within the healthcare sector, but there is a lack of instruments that can measure staff's perceptions of Lean adoption. Thus, the aim of the present study was to develop a questionnaire measuring Lean in healthcare, based on Liker's description of Lean, by adapting an existing instrument developed for the service sector.MethodsA mixed-method design was used. Initially, items from the service sector instrument were categorized according to Liker's 14 principles describing Lean within four domains: philosophy, processes, people and partners and problem-solving. Items were lacking for three of Liker's principles and were therefore developed de novo. Think-aloud interviews were conducted with 12 healthcare staff from different professions to contextualize and examine the face validity of the questionnaire prototype. Thereafter, the adjusted questionnaire's psychometric properties were assessed on the basis of a cross-sectional survey among 386 staff working in primary care.ResultsThe think-aloud interviews led to adjustments in the questionnaire to better suit a healthcare context, and the number of items was reduced. Confirmatory factor analysis of the adjusted questionnaire showed a generally acceptable correspondence with Liker's description of Lean. Internal consistency, measured using Cronbach's alpha, for the factors in Liker's description of Lean was 0.60 for the factor people and partners, and over 0.70 for the three other factors. Test-retest reliability measured by the intra-class correlation coefficient ranged from 0.77 to 0.88 for the four factors.ConclusionsWe designed a questionnaire capturing staff's perceptions of Lean adoption in healthcare on the basis of Liker's description. This Lean in Healthcare Questionnaire (LiHcQ) showed generally acceptable psychometric properties, which supports its usability for measuring Lean adoption in healthcare. We suggest that further research focus on verifying the usability of LiHcQ in other healthcare settings, and on adjusting the instrument if needed.

Project description:ImportanceThe idea that physicians as patients choose less-aggressive care at the end of life for themselves is an often-cited rationale to advocate for less technology-laden end-of-life care.ObjectiveTo assess end-of-life care received by physicians compared with nonphysicians in a system with universal health care.Design, setting, and participantsIn this population-level decedent cohort study of data from April 1, 2004, through March 31, 2015 (fiscal years 2004-2014), in Ontario, Canada, 2507 physicians were matched approximately 1:3 to 7513 nonphysicians (ie, individuals who never were registered as a physician with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario) according to age, sex, income quintile, and location of residence.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was location of death. Other outcomes included measures of health care use in the last 6 months of life. Differences were assessed using Poisson regression with robust error variances, adjusting for the Charlson Comorbidity Index.ResultsIn total, 2516 physicians and 954 836 nonphysicians died between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2015, in Ontario; 2247 physicians (89.3%) and 474 182 nonphysicians (49.7%) were men. The median (interquartile range) age at death was 82 (74-87) years for the physicians and 80 (68-87) years for the nonphysicians. After matching, data for 2507 physicians and 7513 nonphysicians were analyzed. For physicians, the risk of death at home was no different from that for nonphysicians (42.8% vs 39.0%; adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.04; 95% CI, 0.99-1.09), but the risk of death in an intensive care unit was increased (11.9% vs 10.0%; aRR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.08-1.39). In the prior 6 months, physicians had a decreased risk of an emergency department visit (73.0% vs 78.4%; aRR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.98) but increased risks of an intensive care unit admission (20.8% vs 19.1%; aRR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.05-1.24) and of receipt of palliative care services (52.9% vs 47.4%; aRR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.13-1.23). Among a subgroup of 457 physicians and 1347 nonphysicians with cancer, the risk of death at home or intensive care unit was increased (37.6% vs 28.6%; aRR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.13-1.50), as was the risk of receiving chemotherapy in the last 6 months of life.Conclusions and relevanceThere was no difference overall for physicians compared with nonphysicians in terms of the likelihood of dying at home; physicians were more likely to die in an intensive care unit and to receive chemotherapy, but also to receive palliative care services. These findings suggest that physicians do not consistently opt for less-aggressive care but instead receive end-of-life care that includes both intensive and palliative care. These findings inform a more nuanced perspective of what physicians may perceive to be optimal care at the end of life.

Project description:BackgroundEnd-of-life (EoL) care volunteers in hospitals are a novel approach to support patients and their close ones. The iLIVE Volunteer Study supported hospital volunteer coordinators from five European countries to design and implement an EoL care volunteer service on general wards in their hospitals. This study aimed to identify and explore barriers and facilitators to the implementation of EoL care volunteer services in the five hospitals.MethodsVolunteer coordinators (VCs) from the Netherlands (NL), Norway (NO), Slovenia (SI), Spain (ES) and United Kingdom (UK) participated in a focus group interview and subsequent in-depth one-to-one interviews. A theory-inspired framework based on the five domains of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used for data collection and analysis. Results from the focus group were depicted in radar charts per hospital.ResultsBarriers across all hospitals were the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the implementation process, and the lack of recognition of the added value of EoL care volunteers by hospital staff. Site-specific barriers were struggles with promoting the service in a highly structured setting with many stakeholders (NL), negative views among nurses on hospital volunteering (NL, NO), a lack of support from healthcare professionals and the management (SI, ES), and uncertainty about their role in implementation among VCs (ES). Site-specific facilitators were training of volunteers (NO, SI, NL), involving volunteers in promoting the service (NO), and education and awareness for healthcare professionals about the role and boundaries of volunteers (UK).ConclusionEstablishing a comprehensive EoL care volunteer service for patients in non-specialist palliative care wards involves multiple considerations including training, creating awareness and ensuring management support. Implementation requires involvement of stakeholders in a way that enables medical EoL care and volunteering to co-exist. Further research is needed to explore how trust and equal partnerships between volunteers and professional staff can be built and sustained.Trial registrationNCT04678310. Registered 21/12/2020.

Dataset Information

Measuring relatives' perceptions of end-of-life communication with physicians in five countries: a psychometric analysis.

Supplementary information

Publications

Measuring relatives' perceptions of end-of-life communication with physicians in five countries: a psychometric analysis.

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