Table 2 Outcomes, comparators, and data sources
Outcome | Measure(s), indicator(s) | Data source |
|---|---|---|
Patient-related outcomes | ||
Quality of life | Physical and psychosocial wellbeing, social support, financial strain | Standardized quality of health / care related measures such as POSa; QODDb; QUELCc |
Quality of care | Unplanned hospital admissions | Health insurance claims data |
Service usage and time investment | ||
Service usage | GPs’ consultations and home visits; prescriptions (medication, medical aids, interventions); referral to specialists and other service providers; out-of-hours contacts; emergency interventions | Health insurance claims data GP’s office software |
GPs’ time investment | Time dedicated to assessments, home visits, telephone consultations, physical care, and psychosocial care | Time registration (ethnographic field research) |
Impact on GPs’ and practice staff’s ability and capacity to deliver primary palliative care | ||
Quality of palliative care delivery | GPs’ and practice staff’s appraisal of the quality of PC provided to their patients | Organizational ethnographic field research including individual and group interviews |
Quality of care other than palliative care | GPs’ and practice staff’s appraisal of the quality of care provided to other patients | Organizational ethnographic field research including individual and group interviews |
Work satisfaction | GPs’ and practice staff’s work-related satisfaction and sense of meaningfulness | Organizational ethnographic field research including individual and group interviews |
Economic evaluation | ||
Direct costs for the healthcare system | Service usage (consultations and home visits, prescriptions of medicines and medical aids, specialist referrals, social services, out-of-hours contacts, emergency interventions) | Health insurance claims data GP’s office software |
Direct costs for patients and relatives | Additional costs for medications and therapeutic interventions not covered by the health insurance funds | Organizational ethnographic field research including individual and group interviews |
Indirect costs for patients and relatives | Social isolation; (temporary) work loss; abandon of activities or relationships | Organizational ethnographic field research including individual and group interviews |
Direct costs for GPs and other healthcare providers | Costs invested for PC not remunerated within the medical compensation system | Organizational ethnographic field research including individual and group interviews |
Indirect costs for GPs and other healthcare providers | Personal strain; impact on healthcare professionals’ private lives; abandon of activities or relationships | Organizational ethnographic field research including individual and group interviews |
Feasibility of the intervention package | ||
Process monitoring and formative evaluation of the implementation phase | Normalization Process Theory core constructs (coherence, cognitive participation, collective action, and reflexive monitoring) | NoMADd assessment instrument for the evaluation of the implementation of complex interventions |