Open AccessRegion-specific macro-indicators for palliative care development in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a Delphi study
Author(s) -
Miguel A. Sánchez-Cárdenas,
Eduardo Garralda,
Danny van Steijn,
Nasim Pourghazian,
Slim Slama,
Marie-Charlotte Bouësseau,
Carlos Centeno,
Eastern Mediterranean Regional Network on Palliative Care
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
eastern mediterranean health journal/eastern mediterranean health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1687-1634
pISSN - 1020-3397
DOI - 10.26719/emhj.22.036
Subject(s) - delphi , macro , palliative care , geography , delphi method , mediterranean climate , macro level , mediterranean islands , medicine , nursing , computer science , archaeology , economics , operating system , economic system , artificial intelligence , programming language
Background: The World Health Organization Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), and a recently created palliative care experts’ network from the EMR, decided to develop region-specific indicators to monitor national palliative care development. Aims: To identify relevant and feasible macroindicators of palliative care development for the EMR. Methods: Palliative care experts from the EMR were nominated and invited to complete a 2-round Delphi study to rate macroindicators from previous studies and propose new ones based on regional characteristics. All indicators were assessed by regional relevance (R) and feasibility (F). A content validity index (CVI) was calculated. Indicators with CVI ≥ 0.7/1, and scoring ≥ 7/9 for the average of R and F were selected. Results: Twelve of 22 countries were represented in the study. In the first round, 11 indicators were selected and 13 new ones proposed. In the second round, 15 indicators matched R, F and CVI criteria. Top-scored indicators were: existence of a current national palliative care strategy (R = 8, F = 8, CVI = 1); ratio of specialized services (for adults and children) in the country per population (R = 8, F = 7, CVI = 1); allocation of funds for palliative care in the national health budget by the Ministry of Health or equivalent government agency (R = 8, F = 6, CVI = 1); education for prequalification doctors/nurses (R = 8, F = 8, CVI = 0.9); and availability of morphine and other strong opioids (R =8, F = 8, CVI= 0.9). Conclusion: A baseline set of 15 region-specific indicators for measuring development of palliative care were validated by regional experts.