Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.

Palliative care planning for nursing home residents with advanced dementia is often suboptimal. This study compared effects of facilitated case conferencing (FCC) with usual care (UC) on end-of-life care.A two arm parallel cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted. The sample included people...

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Main Authors: Meera Agar, Tim Luckett, Georgina Luscombe, Jane Phillips, Elizabeth Beattie, Dimity Pond, Geoffrey Mitchell, Patricia M Davidson, Janet Cook, Deborah Brooks, Jennifer Houltram, Stephen Goodall, Lynnette Chenoweth
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5546584?pdf=render
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author Meera Agar
Tim Luckett
Georgina Luscombe
Jane Phillips
Elizabeth Beattie
Dimity Pond
Geoffrey Mitchell
Patricia M Davidson
Janet Cook
Deborah Brooks
Jennifer Houltram
Stephen Goodall
Lynnette Chenoweth
author_facet Meera Agar
Tim Luckett
Georgina Luscombe
Jane Phillips
Elizabeth Beattie
Dimity Pond
Geoffrey Mitchell
Patricia M Davidson
Janet Cook
Deborah Brooks
Jennifer Houltram
Stephen Goodall
Lynnette Chenoweth
author_sort Meera Agar
collection DOAJ
description Palliative care planning for nursing home residents with advanced dementia is often suboptimal. This study compared effects of facilitated case conferencing (FCC) with usual care (UC) on end-of-life care.A two arm parallel cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted. The sample included people with advanced dementia from 20 Australian nursing homes and their families and professional caregivers. In each intervention nursing home (n = 10), Palliative Care Planning Coordinators (PCPCs) facilitated family case conferences and trained staff in person-centred palliative care for 16 hours per week over 18 months. The primary outcome was family-rated quality of end-of-life care (End-of-Life Dementia [EOLD] Scales). Secondary outcomes included nurse-rated EOLD scales, resident quality of life (Quality of Life in Late-stage Dementia [QUALID]) and quality of care over the last month of life (pharmacological/non-pharmacological palliative strategies, hospitalization or inappropriate interventions).Two-hundred-eighty-six people with advanced dementia took part but only 131 died (64 in UC and 67 in FCC which was fewer than anticipated), rendering the primary analysis under-powered with no group effect seen in EOLD scales. Significant differences in pharmacological (P < 0.01) and non-pharmacological (P < 0.05) palliative management in last month of life were seen. Intercurrent illness was associated with lower family-rated EOLD Satisfaction with Care (coefficient 2.97, P < 0.05) and lower staff-rated EOLD Comfort Assessment with Dying (coefficient 4.37, P < 0.01). Per protocol analyses showed positive relationships between EOLD and staff hours to bed ratios, proportion of residents with dementia and staff attitudes.FCC facilitates a palliative approach to care. Future trials of case conferencing should consider outcomes and processes regarding decision making and planning for anticipated events and acute illness.Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12612001164886.
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spelling doaj.art-9b3d7530bd3e4cf484845d2ad21a0fe42022-12-22T00:14:18ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01128e018102010.1371/journal.pone.0181020Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.Meera AgarTim LuckettGeorgina LuscombeJane PhillipsElizabeth BeattieDimity PondGeoffrey MitchellPatricia M DavidsonJanet CookDeborah BrooksJennifer HoultramStephen GoodallLynnette ChenowethPalliative care planning for nursing home residents with advanced dementia is often suboptimal. This study compared effects of facilitated case conferencing (FCC) with usual care (UC) on end-of-life care.A two arm parallel cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted. The sample included people with advanced dementia from 20 Australian nursing homes and their families and professional caregivers. In each intervention nursing home (n = 10), Palliative Care Planning Coordinators (PCPCs) facilitated family case conferences and trained staff in person-centred palliative care for 16 hours per week over 18 months. The primary outcome was family-rated quality of end-of-life care (End-of-Life Dementia [EOLD] Scales). Secondary outcomes included nurse-rated EOLD scales, resident quality of life (Quality of Life in Late-stage Dementia [QUALID]) and quality of care over the last month of life (pharmacological/non-pharmacological palliative strategies, hospitalization or inappropriate interventions).Two-hundred-eighty-six people with advanced dementia took part but only 131 died (64 in UC and 67 in FCC which was fewer than anticipated), rendering the primary analysis under-powered with no group effect seen in EOLD scales. Significant differences in pharmacological (P < 0.01) and non-pharmacological (P < 0.05) palliative management in last month of life were seen. Intercurrent illness was associated with lower family-rated EOLD Satisfaction with Care (coefficient 2.97, P < 0.05) and lower staff-rated EOLD Comfort Assessment with Dying (coefficient 4.37, P < 0.01). Per protocol analyses showed positive relationships between EOLD and staff hours to bed ratios, proportion of residents with dementia and staff attitudes.FCC facilitates a palliative approach to care. Future trials of case conferencing should consider outcomes and processes regarding decision making and planning for anticipated events and acute illness.Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12612001164886.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5546584?pdf=render
spellingShingle Meera Agar
Tim Luckett
Georgina Luscombe
Jane Phillips
Elizabeth Beattie
Dimity Pond
Geoffrey Mitchell
Patricia M Davidson
Janet Cook
Deborah Brooks
Jennifer Houltram
Stephen Goodall
Lynnette Chenoweth
Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.
PLoS ONE
title Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.
title_full Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.
title_fullStr Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.
title_short Effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia: A cluster randomised clinical trial.
title_sort effects of facilitated family case conferencing for advanced dementia a cluster randomised clinical trial
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5546584?pdf=render
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