Development of the Palliative Care Needs Assessment Tool (PC-NAT) for use by multi-disciplinary health professionals
- 6 October 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Palliative Medicine
- Vol. 22 (8), 956-964
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0269216308098797
Abstract
Needs assessment strategies can facilitate prioritisation of resources. To develop a needs assessment tool for use with advanced cancer patients and caregivers, to prompt early intervation. A convenience sample of 103 health professionals viewed three videotaped consultations involving a simulated patient, his/her caregiver and a health professional, completed the Palliative Care Needs Assessment Tool (PC-NAT) and provided feedback on clarity, content and acceptability of the PC-NAT. Face and content validity, acceptability and feasibility of the PC-NAT were confirmed. Kappa scores indicated adequate inter-rater reliability for the majority of domains; the patient spirituality domain and the caregiver physical and family and relationship domains had low reliability. The PC-NAT can be used by health professionals with a range of clinical expertise to identify individuals’ needs, thereby enabling early intervention. Further psychometric testing and an evaluation to assess the impact of the systematic use of the PC-NAT on quality of life, unmet needs and service utilisation of patients and caregivers are underway.Keywords
This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- Specialized palliative care services are associated with improved short- and long-term caregiver outcomesSupportive Care in Cancer, 2007
- How Well Do Family Caregivers Cope after Caring for a Relative with Advanced Disease and How Can Health Professionals Enhance their Support?Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2006
- A longitudinal study of palliative careCancer, 2005
- A new international framework for palliative careEuropean Journal Of Cancer, 2004
- Spirituality in gynecological oncology: a reviewInternational Journal of Gynecologic Cancer, 2004
- Is There Evidence That Palliative Care Teams Alter End-of-Life Experiences of Patients and Their Caregivers?Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2003
- Do Hospital-Based Palliative Teams Improve Care for Patients or Families at the End of Life?Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 2002
- Spirituality and meaning in supportive care: spirituality- and meaning-centered group psychotherapy interventions in advanced cancerSupportive Care in Cancer, 2001
- Advancing Educational Scholarship through the End of Life Physician Education Resource Center (EPERC)Journal of Palliative Medicine, 1999
- Family Caregiver Quality of Life: Differences Between Curative and Palliative Cancer Treatment SettingsJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, 1999