Patients' experiences of using the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale for a person-centered care: A qualitative study in the specialized palliative home-care context.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore patients' experiences of using the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) during specialized palliative home care. The study adopted a qualitative approach with an interpretive descriptive design. Interviews were performed with 10 patients, of whom a majority were diagnosed with incurable cancer. Our findings suggest that the use of IPOS as a basis for conversation promotes safe care by making the patients feel confident that the care provided was adapted to them which givesthem a sense of safety. IPOS facilitated discussions between patients and nurses about care needs. The patients believed that using IPOS enabled reflection on their well-being and life situation. In conclusion, the study finds that using IPOS is beneficial and provide ways to enable person-centered care and with advantage could be used in specialized palliative home care. The results may help overcome barriers and facilitate the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). To enable the use of PROMs such as IPOS in palliative home care, nurses need education and opportunities to develop routines that enable patients' voice to be heard and thereby compose a basis for care.