Skip to main content

Table 1 Core questions for the semi-structured interviews

From: Professionals’ perceptions and current practices of integrated palliative care in chronic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study in Belgium

1

Are patients usually informed about the prognosis of their disease? How easy/difficult is that?

2

Is it needed to have holistic assessment and who should do that? When should the holistic assessments be applied?

3

When should palliative care be initiated? For what is the patient referred?

4

Is it necessary that patients’ goals are explored?

5

Do goals change during the disease trajectory?

6

What are the most frequently used interventions for suffering reduction?

7

Is advance care planning useful for cardiology/pulmonology? In what percentages of patients it is used?

8

When is the palliative care team involved?

9

Are there any specific recommendations on what to do in the patient’s last hours of living?

10

Are there any specific recommendations for support of the family of the patient post-mortem? Is grief and bereavement care present?