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. 2019 Mar 25;2019(3):CD012387. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012387.pub2

Waller 2012.

Methods Quasi‐experimental interrupted time series design ‐ first a control group (CG), sequentially intervention group (IG)
Participants Patients with advanced cancer
Country: Australia
Age: At T0: mean 66.1 years (SD 10.7; range 31 to 89)
Sex: At T0: 47% female
Inclusion criteria
  1. diagnosis of advanced cancer, no longer amenable to cure, with extensive local, regional, or metastatic disease

  2. ≥ 18 years

  3. understands English sufficiently to complete questionnaires and telephone interviews

  4. emotionally and cognitively capable of participating, as judged by clinic staff


Exclusion criteria: /
N recruited: N = 219 consented, n = 195 completed baseline measurement
N in analysis: Variable according to time point: T‐3 (n = 70); T‐2 (n = 122); T‐1 (n = 160); T0 (n = 192); T1 (n = 103); T2 (n = 85); T3 (n = 67)
Interventions Content of screen:CARE NEEDS: tool = NAT:PD‐C
  1. 3 items: participant has a caregiver available; participant or caregiver has requested a referral; health professional needs assistance in managing care

  2. 7 items: participant’s well‐being: physical, daily living, psychological, information, spiritual/existential, cultural and social, financial, and legal domains

  3. 6 items: ability of caregiver/family to care for the participant: physical, daily living, psychological, information, financial, legal, and family and relationship domains

  4. 2 items: caregiver’s well‐being in relation to their own physical, psychological, and bereavement issues


Screenings interventionist: Healthcare professionals (several disciplines) use the tool to assess the issues in the consult with the participant
Intervention procedure:Solitary SI: healthcare professionals complete the NAT:PD‐C during consultation and use the resulting insights in their discussion of and referral for participants' specific care needs or issues.
Conditions for implementation
  1. Palliative care needs assessment guidelines and NAT:PD‐C available

  2. Medical staff, trained in using the NAT:PD‐C tool

  3. Person needed for 2‐monthly computer‐assisted telephone interviews to monitor participant's needs of care


Comparative condition: CG: usual care without use of the NAT:PD‐C or training of the professionals on the Palliative Care Needs Assessment Guidelines
Length of follow‐up: 18 months
Outcomes Primary outcomes
  1. care needs (SCNS)

  2. NA‐ACP: questions on spiritual needs


Secondary outcomes
  1. depression and anxiety (HADS)

  2. QoL: 2 general questions of the EORTC QLQ‐C30


Outcome time points: 7 times: 6, 4, and 2 months before intervention implementation (T‐3, T‐2, T‐1); at start, 2, 4, and 6 months past intervention implementation (T0, T1, T2, T3)
Notes For bias judgement on NRCTs, see Table 3; Table 4; Table 9