Review Collection Effectiveness Quality Process Outcome Measures Tools and Measures Clinical Practice Audit

‘Quality’ in relation to care provision is something that is sought and viewed as crucial in palliative care as in other areas. Nurses are often involved in activities such as quality improvement and audit, or quality assurance. Several accreditation bodies now have standards around care of the dying patient.

Building evidence to assess the quality of palliative care service provision is important and an area service providers continue to work towards.

Quality Improvement remains a key area for activity and development and there are several programs focusing on this including CareSearch, the National Standards Assessment Program (NSAP) and the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC). These 3 programs form the Australian Palliative Care Quality Alliance.

Resources

• Projects funded under the National Palliative care Program that constitute a collaborative quality approach to palliative care in Australia are:
  • The Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration PCOC
  • The National Standards and Assessment Program NSAP
  • CareSearch, Palliative Care Knowledge Network
• The Department of Health and Ageing has information on Research and Quality Improvement for Palliative care Services 
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
  National palliative care performance indicators: results of the 2007 performance indicator data collection. Canberra: AIHW; 2008. Cat. no. HWI 99.
• Cancer Australia has a Quality Assurance Resources and Reference list

 Quality Peak Bodies

• The Australian Council on HealthCare Standards
• The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

Free Full Text Article

Gelfman LP, Meier DE, Morrison RS. Does palliative care improve quality? A survey of bereaved family members. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2008 Jul;36(1):22-8. Epub 2008 Apr 14.

Hunt J, Keeley VL, Cobb M, Ahmedzai SH. A new quality assurance package for hospital palliative care teams: the Trent Hospice Audit Group model. Br J Cancer. 2004 Jul 19;91(2):248-53.

References

• Eagar K, Watters P, Currow DC, Aoun SM, Yates P. The Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) – measuring the quality and outcomes of palliative care on a routine basis. Aust Health Rev. 2010 May;34(2):186-92.
• Moran S. Improving palliative care. Nurs Manag (Harrow). 2009 May;16(2):14-7.
• Charlton R, Smith G, White D, Austin C, Pitts M. Audit tools for palliative care services: Identification of neglected aspects of care. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2002 Nov-Dec;19(6):397-402.

Return to Policy Quality Standards page

Last updated 27 August 2010