title: Outcome evaluation in a home palliative care service.
abstract: The complexity of assessing the impact of palliative care is much greater than in other fields of medicine, due to the shortcomings of traditional outcome indicators. We conducted a prospective study to describe the patient's quality of life at the outset and during palliative care at home and to define some potential indicators of palliative care outcomes with the aim of assessing the quality of home care as provided by a palliative care unit. Seventy-three patients who received care at home were assessed. The median survival in palliative home care was 29 days. To evaluate the degree of symptom distress, we used an Italian version of the Symptom Distress Scale. Assessing the quality-of-life pattern over time, we observed that palliative care was effective in mitigating pain and, at least in part, in stimulating appetite, curbing nausea, and controlling psychological aspects. The subscales referring to social and functional aspects steadily worsened. The difficulties encountered (the high percentage of missing data, the considerable number of patients treated for less than 10 days, etc.) should be a warning against using only one assessment instrument. It is worthwhile defining the various potential outcomes of palliative care even though all results will not always be measurable in every patients. Only a global assessment, a "multiple outcomes approach," based on different indicators, would allow for evaluation of the outcome of the care process.
authors.affiliation: Palliative Care Unit, Fatebenefratelli-Oftalmico Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peruselli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Paci
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Franceschi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Legori
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mannucci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010166:Palliative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life