title: Variations in pain management outcomes among palliative care centers and the impact of organizational factors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The assessment of pain management outcomes is important for the quality assurance of palliative care. The objective of this study was to determine whether there are significant variations in pain management outcomes among palliative care centers and whether they are affected by organizational factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data used in this investigation were from the 2009 Korean Terminal Cancer Patient Information System and administrative records of the 34 inpatient palliative care centers designated by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2009. Self-reported pain scores (range, from 0 to 10) at admission and 1 week after admission were prospectively collected. Multilevel mixed-effect regression models were used to analyze the variations and the impact of organizational-level factors on 2 pain management outcomes (ie, reduction in average pain score and achievement of adequate pain control at 1 week after admission).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 1711 patients with terminal cancer were included in the analyses. The mean reduction in the pain score was 0.69 to 1.91 after 1 week, and most patients (82.8%) achieved adequate pain control. There were significant variations in pain management outcomes among palliative care centers. Higher composite scores for human resources adequacy were associated significantly with a greater reduction in pain score (β, 0.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.21), and achievement of adequate pain control (adjusted odds ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.10-1.45).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were significant variations in pain management outcomes among inpatient palliative care centers, and they were affected by organizational factors, such as human resources adequacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Wook
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Seung Sik
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Juhwan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jung Hoe
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong Hyock
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Juhee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Belong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Kee Taig
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Eun-Cheol
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome