Perspectives of inpatients with palliative care needs, their families, clinicians and key stakeholders on measuring quality of hospital care via patient experience measures: A qualitative study

Background: Globally there are high numbers of patients with palliative care needs receiving care in hospitals. Patient reported experience measures (PREMs) provide useful data to guide improvement work. How to implement PREMs within palliative care populations is unclear. 

Aim: To explore the perspectives of inpatients with palliative care needs, their family members, and the clinical team regarding the use of a generic PREM as compared with a PREM designed for people with palliative care needs and related implementation factors. 

Design: A qualitative study was undertaken using semi-structured interviews and focus groups and integrated thematic analysis. 

Setting/participants: Inpatients with palliative care needs, their family members, and clinical team members were recruited from three wards in an Australian metropolitan hospital. 

Results: Twenty-seven interviews and three focus groups were conducted. Six themes emerged: (1) PREMs for people with palliative care needs ought to be tailored to the needs of this population; (2) PREMs should appraise whether the needs of families have been met in addition to those of patients; (3) PREMs for inpatients with palliative care needs ought to be easy to use, brief and incorporate space for free text alongside each question; (4) Implementation of PREMs for people with palliative care needs ought to consider who administers these, when and how often; (5) PREM data need to be specific enough to inform process change and/or care provision; (6) Patients and families require meaningful feedback to encourage PREM completion. 

Conclusions: This study provides practical guidance for PREM selection and implementation to inform improvements to care for inpatients with palliative care needs.