Abstract
BackgroundPalliative care is a vital component of patient-centered care. It has increasingly become central to the management and care of seriously ill patients by integrating physical, psychosocial, and spiritual supportive services. Through qualitative inquiry, this paper examines cancer patients’ perceptions of the process and outcomes of the pain and palliative care consultative services they received while enrolled in a clinical trial.MethodsA qualitative analysis of open-ended questions was conducted from a sub-sample of patients (n = 34) with advanced cancers enrolled in a randomized controlled trial exploring the efficacy of a palliative care consult service. Two open-ended questions focused on patient perceptions of continued participation on their primary cancer clinical trials and their perceptions of interdisciplinary communication.ResultsThree overarching themes emerged when asked whether receiving pain and palliative care services made them more likely to remain enrolled in their primary cancer clinical trial: patients’ past experiences with care, self-identified personal characteristics and reasons for participation, and the quality of the partnership. Four themes emerged related to interdisciplinary communication including: the importance of developing relationships, facilitating open communication, having quality communication, and uncertainty about communication between the cancer clinical trial and palliative care teams.ConclusionsOur findings suggest the importance of qualitative inquiry methods to explore patient perceptions regarding the efficacy of palliative care services for cancer patients enrolled in a cancer clinical trial. Validation of patient perceptions through qualitative inquiry regarding their pain and palliative care needs can provide insight into areas for future implementation research.Trial registrationNIH Office of Human Subjects Research Protection OHSRP5443 and University of Pennsylvania 813365
Highlights
IntroductionIt has increasingly become central to the management and care of seriously ill patients by integrating physical, psychosocial, and spiritual supportive services
Palliative care is a vital component of patient-centered care
Sample Participants (n = 34) in this qualitative analysis were drawn from a larger, randomized controlled, multiphased, longitudinal, mixed methods trial conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Clinical Center (CC) to evaluate the efficacy of the Palliative Care Service intervention compared to usual care for patients with advanced malignancies who were enrolled in cancer clinical trials that included undergoing surgical procedures in National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surgery Branch clinical trials
Summary
It has increasingly become central to the management and care of seriously ill patients by integrating physical, psychosocial, and spiritual supportive services. This paper examines cancer patients’ perceptions of the process and outcomes of the pain and palliative care consultative services they received while enrolled in a clinical trial. Studies that evaluate the process and outcomes of palliative care services for patients enrolled in clinical trials are one approach to quantifying the quality of care in palliative care programs and can serve to better. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the use of qualitative inquiry into cancer patients’ perceptions of the health services provided by the palliative care consultative team while they were enrolled in a cancer clinical trial. The participant perceptions regarding the effect that receiving palliative care had on their likelihood to remain in a cancer clinical trial are explored
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