Cent Eur J Nurs Midw 2012, 3(2):404-414

Creation of a measuring tool for evaluating the needs of patients in palliative care in connection with the quality of life: evaluation of the needs of patients in palliative care (PNAP)

Radka Bužgová^*, Renáta Zeleníková

Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava

Objective: The aim of the research was to determine the needs of patients in palliative care in connection with the quality of their lives and to create a suitable tool for identifying the needs of patients in palliative care.

Methods: To determine the needs of patients in palliative care and obtaining material for formulation of the questionnaire items was used qualitative method of structured group interviews - focus groups (n = 5), which were carried out in two phases. 30 respondents participated in this focus groups (nurses, physicians, social workers, parsons, patient, family members). In the first part of structured interviews were assessed needs of the terminally ill in connection with the quality of life. The results were used to formulate the areas (domains) and creation of questionnaire items. In the second phase were determined important areas of needs, were discussed foreign tools for the assessment of needs and were analysed individual items of questionnaire suitable for the Czech environment.

Results: Based on the data analysis were developed categories and subcategories, which became the basis for creation of domains and questionnaire items: 1 Respect for the physical needs (subcategories: being without pain, to have symptoms under control), 2 Respect for the psychic needs (subcategories: reconciliation with the disease and death, fear and anxiety, the need to maintain own identity), 3 Respect for the autonomy (subcategories: the possibility of decision-making, preserving self-sufficiency, sufficiency of information), 4 Respect for the social needs (subcategories: activity, security, contact with family, pure human presence, sexuality), 5 Respect for the spiritual needs (subcategories: religious needs, aesthetic needs, privacy in the room, meaning of life, politeness, aspects of departing from the life).

Conclusion: Created questionnaire that contains 42 items grouped into 5 domains. A questionnaire will be tested on the psychometric properties.

Keywords: need, palliative care, assessment tools, quality of life

Published: September 30, 2012  Show citation