A prospective study of unmet activity of daily living needs in palliative care inpatients.
OBJECTIVE
To define the unmet needs of activities of daily living as defined by patients and caregivers in a palliative care inpatient unit.


METHODS
A cross-sectional prevalence study of a convenience cohort of a dyad of patient/caregiver. Functional status and unment needs were assessed. Agreement between respondents was analysed.


RESULTS
Caregivers identified significantly more unmet needs than patients (2.5 vs 2.5; p = 0.03). Areas of unmet need included mobility, leisure and bathing.


CONCLUSIONS
Routine screening for unmet needs in function should be part of all inpatient palliative care assessments.
Jeyasingam
Lalitha
L
Department of Palliative and Supportive Services, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia.
Agar
Meera
M
Soares
Michael
M
Plummer
John
J
Currow
David C
DC
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D017028:Caregivers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests