Adaptation of the Taiwan Version of the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT-TW) and Its Association with Six-Month Mortality: A Multi-Center Validation Study in Older People.

The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT) was developed for identifying, in a timely manner, patients who may benefit from supportive and palliative care for better treatment review, care-plan discussion, and end-of-life care. Although the SPICT has been validated in different languages and for patients living in different settings, it has not been validated for patients receiving home-based medical care (HBMC), or in the context of using traditional Chinese characters. The present study aimed to validate the Taiwanese version of the SPICT (SPICT-TW) and to measure its ability to predict six-month mortality in patients who received HBMC in Taiwan.

Palliative care delivery in India during COVID-19 pandemic: role of faith-based hospitals - a qualitative study.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic challenged palliative care (PC) services globally. We studied the ways healthcare professionals (HCPs) working in faith-based hospitals (FBHs) experienced and adapted care through the pandemic, and how this impacted patients with PC needs.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with HCPs from FBHs serving rural and urban population across India.

Integrating lived experiences of out-of-hours health services for people with palliative and end-of-life care needs with national datasets for people dying in Scotland in 2016: A mixed methods, multi-stage design.

Background: Unscheduled care is used increasingly during the last year of life by people known to have significant palliative care needs.

Aim: To document the frequency and patterns of use of unscheduled healthcare by people in their last year of life and understand the experiences and perspectives of patients, families and professionals about accessing unscheduled care out-of-hours.

Design: A mixed methods, multi-stage study integrating a retrospective cohort analysis of unscheduled healthcare service use in the last year of life for all people dying in Scotland in 2016 with qualitative data from three regions involving service users, bereaved carers and general practitioners.

Palliative care integration indicators: an European regional analysis.

Objective: To estimate the capacity of European countries to integrate palliative care (PC) into their health systems through PC service provision for patients of all ages, with different care needs and diseases, in various settings and by a range of providers.

Methods: Secondary analysis of survey data from 51 countries with 22 indicators explored the integration of available PC resources for children, for patients of all ages, at the primary care level, for oncology and cardiac patients, and in long-term care facilities. We also measured volunteer participation.

Palliative care research promotion in policy and practice: a knowledge exchange process.

In palliative care, as in many areas of medicine, there is a considerable amount of research conducted that makes sound recommendations but does not result consistently in improved care. For instance, though palliative care has been shown to benefit all people with a life-threatening illness, its main reach continues to be for those with cancer. Drawing on relational models of research use, we set out to engage policy-makers, educators, clinicians, commissioners and service providers in a knowledge exchange process to identify implications of research for Scottish palliative care priorities.

Frailty degree and illness trajectories in older people towards the end-of-life: a prospective observational study.

Objectives: To assess the degree of frailty in older people with different advanced diseases and its relationship with end-of-life illness trajectories and survival.

Methods: Prospective, observational study, including all patients admitted to the Acute Geriatric Unit of the University Hospital of Vic (Spain) during 12 consecutive months (2014-2015), followed for up to 2 years. Participants were identified as end-of-life people (EOLp) using the NECPAL (, palliative care needs) tool and were classified according to their dominant illness trajectory.

Communicating uncertainty: contrasting the communication experiences of patients with advanced COPD and incurable lung cancer.

Background: Due to the uncertain disease trajectory and variable rate of progression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), health care professionals (HCPs) are challenged in explaining what the future may hold for patients compared to those with lung cancer (LC). Support and communication of timely information can significantly improve health outcomes.

Objective: This study sought to identify factors that impact communication and support and recommend ways to improve patients' understanding of living with life-threatening illness.

'COVID-19 and palliative medicine: faith-based hospitals in India'.

Objectives: Faith-based organisations (FBOs) in India provide health services particularly to marginalised communities. We studied their preparedness and delivery of palliative care during COVID-19 as part of a mixed-method study. We present the results of an online questionnaire.

How many people will need palliative care in Scotland by 2040? A mixed-method study of projected palliative care need and recommendations for service delivery.

Objective: To estimate future palliative care need and complexity of need in Scotland, and to identify priorities for future service delivery.

Design: We estimated the prevalence of palliative care need by analysing the proportion of deaths from defined chronic progressive illnesses. We described linear projections up to 2040 using national death registry data and official mortality forecasts.

What makes palliative care needs "complex"? A multisite sequential explanatory mixed methods study of patients referred for specialist palliative care.

Background: Specialist palliative care (SPC) providers tend to use the term 'complex' to refer to the needs of patients who require SPC. However, little is known about complex needs on first referral to a SPC service. We examined which needs are present and sought the perspectives of healthcare professionals on the complexity of need on referral to a hospice service.

Unscheduled and out-of-hours care for people in their last year of life: a retrospective cohort analysis of national datasets.

Objectives: To analyse patterns of use and costs of unscheduled National Health Service (NHS) services for people in the last year of life.

Design: Retrospective cohort analysis of national datasets with application of standard UK costings.

Participants And Setting: All people who died in Scotland in 2016 aged 18 or older (N=56 407).

Care home residents who die in hospital: exploring factors, processes and experiences.

Background: Care home residents are increasingly frail with complex health and social care needs. Their transfer to hospital at the end-of-life can be associated with unwanted interventions and distress. However, hospitals do enable provision of care that some residents wish to receive.

Electronic care coordination systems for people with advanced progressive illness: a mixed-methods evaluation in Scottish primary care.

Background: Electronic care coordination systems, known as the Key Information Summary (KIS) in Scotland, enable the creation of shared electronic records available across healthcare settings. A KIS provides clinicians with essential information to guide decision making for people likely to need emergency or out-of-hours care.

Aim: To estimate the proportion of people with an advanced progressive illness with a KIS by the time of death, to examine when planning information is documented, and suggest improvements for electronic care coordination systems.

The impact of population ageing on end-of-life care in Scotland: projections of place of death and recommendations for future service provision.

Background: Global annual deaths are rising. It is essential to examine where future deaths may occur to facilitate decisions regarding future service provision and resource allocation.

Aims: To project where people will die from 2017 to 2040 in an ageing country with advanced integrated palliative care, and to prioritise recommendations based on these trends.