The ‘critical mass’ survey of palliative care programme at ESMO designated centres of integrated oncology and palliative care

Abstract

The ESMO-DCs had a high level of PC infrastructure and provided access to a large proportion of patients with advanced cancer. The survey supports that the 13 criteria required for ESMO designation set a robust framework for integration, stimulated investment of resources into some palliative care programmes prior to accreditation, and raised the interest about palliative care among clinicians, trainees and patients.

State of palliative care services at US cancer centers: An updated national survey

“…This growth is encouraging because outpatient clinics represent the only branch of palliative care to facilitate timely referrals in the ambulatory setting, and earlier referral to palliative care is associated with improved patient and caregiver outcomes . NCI‐designated cancer centers reported that 95% of them were equipped with outpatient palliative care clinics, and this is higher than previous national and international surveys . However, this was true for less than half of non–NCI‐designated cancer centers, which serve a large proportion of patients with cancer in the United States.…”

“…This study included 2 separate surveys for each cancer center: one directed to the cancer center executive and the other directed to the palliative care program leader where applicable. These survey questions had been used in several national and international studies, and the methodology for survey creation had been reported previously . Briefly, 4 medical oncologists and 3 palliative care specialists generated the questions on the structures, processes, and outcomes of specialist palliative care programs after conducting a comprehensive review of the medical literature and national palliative care guidelines, with further pilot testing for readability and face validity.…”

Current status of integrating oncology and palliative care in Japan: a nationwide survey

“…To investigate executive physicians' perceptions of the oncology department toward IOP, 16 questions were used based on the literature search [6,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Each question was rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).…”

“…Recent cumulative evidence revealed that early integration of PC is effective for patients with advanced cancer undergoing cancer treatment [3][4][5]. Several academic societies, including the European Society for Medical Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology, strongly support and recommend integrating oncology and palliative care (IOP) in daily oncology practice [6,7].…”

Provision of Palliative Care - a Major Task for Oncologists

“…To integrate principles of good palliative care helps our patients, their relatives, the providers of care, and the health care system. A Lancet Oncology Commission around Stein Kaasa recently addressed the topic of integration of oncology and palliative care [4], the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) provided recommendations [5], so did the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) [6] and set up a program of centers integrating oncological and palliative care [7]. …”