title: [Assessment and assessment instruments in palliative care. Trail of an assessment of the significance of assessment instruments in Palliative Care].
abstract: Assessment in palliative care is very important. The assessment is a structured and goal oriented procedure. Both is important - structure and goal - because of the patient's vulnerability and in respect to his life-threatening illness. Assessment instruments play a limited role in the process of assessment because many values in palliative care are individual, subjective and their comparison to each other and their measure are limited. It isn't scientific to measure values which aren't measureable. Values become less measureable when complexity grows. Complexity can't be simplified because simplification destroys complexity. It makes sense to ask oneself which outcome an assessment instrument will measure before we use it.
authors.affiliation: Palliativzentrum, Kantonsspital St. Gallen und IFF, Alpen Adria Universität, Klagenfurt. daniel.bueche@bluewin.ch
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Büche
mesh_terms: D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D015588:Observer Variation; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000592:standards*; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000592:standards; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D013557:Switzerland