TABLE 2.

Cancer Care Health Professionals’ Delphi Ratings on Quality Indicator Acceptability: Meaningfulness and Importance

Quality indicator	Meaningfulness		Importance
	Median	% Agreeing	Median	% Agreeing
QIs that demonstrated agreement and acceptability
1. RTx for uncontrolled bone pain for painful bone mets*	9	95	9	90
2. Potent antiemetics for emetogenic chemotherapy†	9	95	9	85
6. Frequency of ER visits‡	7	86	8	81
7. b) ICU d near the end of life‡,§	8	86	6.5	50
8. a) Enrollment in palliative care within 6 mo of death*	7	70	7	70
b) Enrollment in palliative care within 3 d of death*,§	7	79	7	61
9. Multidisciplinary care†	8	83	8	72
12. b) Time and location of care (monthly visits)‡	8	76	8	75
14. Access to care†	8.5	95	8.5	94
15. Access to palliative care*	9	95	8	89
16. Regular palliative care assessments¶	8	89	8	88
18. Advance care directives||,¶	8	58	8	72
19. Assessment of financial and caregiving resources¶	8	75	8	84
QIs that demonstrated disagreement**
3. Interval between last chemotherapy and death‡	5.5	40	5	25
4. Interval between new chemotherapy and death*	5.5	35	5	35
5. Site of death‡	3	60	4	35
7. a) Hospital d near end of life‡	6	40	6	37
10. Adverse events‡	7	58	7	56
11. Continuity of care‡	6.5	50	7	58
12. a) Time and location of care in last 2 wk of total visits‡	6.5	50	6.5	50
13. Community-centered services¶	7	65	8	68
17. Physician reimbursement for home visits¶	4	24	8	68

QI indicates quality indicator; mets, metastasis; ER, emergency room; ICU, intensive care unit.

^*On subsequent research, QI was partially measurable in Nova Scotia but was unmeasurable in Ontario. For full details on measurability findings, see Grunfeld 2006.¹³

^†On subsequent research, QI was partially measurable in both provinces (see Grunfeld 2006¹³).

^‡On subsequent research, QI was fully measurable in both provinces (see Grunfeld 2006¹³).

^§QIs demonstrated agreement on meaningfulness only.

^||QI demonstrated agreement on importance only.

^¶On subsequent research, QI was unmeasurable in both provinces (Grunfeld 2006¹³).

^**According to RAND agreement criteria, disagreement indicates uncertainty on the acceptability of the QI.