title: A comparative analysis of comprehensive geriatric assessments for nursing home residents receiving palliative care: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Nursing homes become important locations for palliative care. By means of comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGAs), an evaluation can be made of the different palliative care needs of nursing home residents. This review aims to identify all CGAs that can be used to assess palliative care needs in long-term care settings and that have been validated for nursing home residents receiving palliative care. The CGAs are evaluated in terms of psychometric properties and content comprehensiveness.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search in electronic databases MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, and PsycInfo was conducted for the years 1990 to 2012.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nursing homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nursing home residents with palliative care needs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Psychometric data on validity and reliability were extracted from the articles. The content comprehensiveness of the identified CGAs was analyzed, using the 13 domains for a palliative approach in residential aged care of the Australian Government Department of Health and Aging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1368 articles were identified. Seven studies met our inclusion criteria, describing 5 different CGAs that have been validated for nursing home residents with palliative care needs. All CGAs demonstrate moderate to high psychometric properties. The interRAI Palliative Care instrument (interRAI PC) covers all domains for a palliative approach in residential aged care of the Australian Government Department of Health and Aging. The McMaster Quality of Life Scale covers nine domains. All other CGAs cover seven domains or fewer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The interRAI PC and the McMaster Quality of Life Scale are considered to be the most comprehensive CGAs to evaluate the needs and preferences of nursing home residents receiving palliative care. Future research should aim to examine the effectiveness of the identified CGAs and to further validate the CGAs for nursing home residents with palliative care needs.
authors.affiliation: LUCAS, Center for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: Kirsten.Hermans@med.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hermans
authors.affiliation: LUCAS, Center for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Almeida Mello
authors.affiliation: LUCAS, Center for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nele
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spruytte
authors.affiliation: End-of-Life Care Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University, Laarbeeklaan, Brussels.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: LUCAS, Center for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Van Audenhove
authors.affiliation: LUCAS, Center for Care Research and Consultancy, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: Anja.Declercq@med.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Declercq
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes; D010166:Palliative Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Comprehensive geriatric assessments; nursing homes; older adults; palliative care