Validation of "Care of the Dying Evaluation" in Emergency Medicine (CODE-EM): pilot phase of end-of-life management protocol offered within emergency room (EMPOWER) study.



Chua, Mui Teng, Sen Kuan, Win, Zheng, Charles Qishi, Tiah, Ling, Kumar, Ranjeev, Wong, Yoko Kin Yoke, Lin, Jingping, Liang, Sufang, Mayland, Catriona R ORCID: 0000-0002-1440-9953, Shi, Luming
et al (show 2 more authors) (2021) Validation of "Care of the Dying Evaluation" in Emergency Medicine (CODE-EM): pilot phase of end-of-life management protocol offered within emergency room (EMPOWER) study. Annals of palliative medicine, 10 (6). pp. 6145-6155.

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>An increasing number of patients who present to emergency departments are at their end-of-life phase and have significant palliative care needs such as in symptom control for pain and dyspnoea. Evaluating quality of care provided is imperative, yet there is no suitable tool validated in the emergency and Asian settings. We aim to examine the face and construct validity, and reliability of a newly developed questionnaire, Care of the Dying Evaluation - Emergency Medicine, for measuring the quality of end-of-life care in an Asian emergency context.<h4>Methods</h4>A mixed methods pilot study was conducted. Participants composed of the next-of-kin to thirty dying patients who presented to the emergency departments of three public hospitals in Singapore. Qualitative evaluation, using cognitive "think-aloud" interviews, and quantitative analysis were employed. Percentage agreement and κ statistic were measured to evaluate temporal stability of the questionnaire. Cronbach's α and item-total correlations were used to assess internal consistency within the constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed for construct validity.<h4>Results</h4>All participants reported clear understanding of the questionnaire with no ambiguity; a minority felt the questions caused emotional distress (7/30, 23.3%). The questions showed moderate to good test-retest reliability. Internal consistencies within the constructs were good for "ENVIRONMENT" and "CARE", and moderate for "COMMUNICATION". Factor loadings range from 0.40 to 0.99.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The Care of the Dying Evaluation - Emergency Medicine questionnaire may be valid and reliable for use in an Asian emergency setting. Our prospective multicentre study using this evaluation tool may provide more insight on the quality of care rendered to dying patients and identify areas for improvement.<h4>Trial registration</h4>ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03906747).

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Death, Prospective Studies, Pilot Projects, Reproducibility of Results, Psychometrics, Emergency Medicine, Emergency Service, Hospital, Multicenter Studies as Topic, Surveys and Questionnaires
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Clinical Directorate
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 18 Oct 2021 07:37
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 21:26
DOI: 10.21037/apm-21-380
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3140588