Table 2 Overview of methods used, topics and content, respondents, and measurement moments

Structured questionnaires on consultations, including the perceived added value

Nature of care request, patient diagnosis, advice provided or received (broken down into the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual domains of palliative care, plus addiction), consultant’s knowledge, consultation timing, facilitating and impeding factors regarding consultation, consultation quality, concreteness and usefulness of advice, effect on quality of palliative care, and added value of consultations.

Consultant

Professional who requested consultation

Requesting consultant

After each consultation

Structured questionnaires about the multidisciplinary meetings

Professional background of attendees, diagnosis, and details of the patients and domains discussed.

Consultant

After each multidisciplinary meeting

Structured digital diary recording activities and experiences with these activities

Type and number of activities performed, reason for activity, experiences with activity. The activities were: consultations, multidisciplinary meetings, training (given or received), and project team meetings.

Consultant

Weekly

Semi-structured group interviews about the perceived added value of multidisciplinary meetings and training activities

Process of getting involved in multidisciplinary meetings and training activities, appreciation of collaboration and discussions, discussed topics, added value of meetings, effect on knowledge and competences, effect on timing and quality of palliative care, suggestions for improvement.

Attendees of multidisciplinary meetings and training activities

After 12 multidisciplinary meetings and training activities

Semi-structured individual interviews about activities, process, added value, and maintenance

Activities, process, added value, and maintenance.

Managers at participating organizations

Shortly after consultation

Semi-structured individual interviews about activities, implementation, and added value

Current activities, collaboration, implementation and effort required, useful elements, missing aspects, perceived benefits of the three elements, perceived added value for collaboration, competences, quality and timing of palliative care.

Consultant

Mid-intervention period

Implementation diary with observations on added value and factors affecting this

Observations on the intervention: activities performed, steps taken to accomplish this, and evaluations and difficulties in this process. Observations on implementation: support for this process, strategies.

Researchers

Every week