Authors' objectives: This study addresses this gap aiming to examine community and hospital-based healthcare professionals’ perceptions of Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems on advance care planning and the delivery of palliative care.

Authors' results and conclusions: Five hundred and sixty-nine health professionals responded to the survey from West Yorkshire (n = 189; 33.2%) and London (n = 380; 66.8%). The largest proportion of respondents came from general practice teams (n = 254; 44.6%). There were prominent differences in responses, with respondents in London more likely to report being familiar with Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems. However, West Yorkshire respondents rated Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems more highly in terms of being a legitimate part of their role. Across professional groups, respondents from both hospice and care home teams were more likely to view Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems as being worthwhile. Commonly reported barriers to the use of Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems included not having access to electronic devices, lack of training and lack of knowledge relating to advance care plans.

Authors' methods: A cross-sectional online survey. The target sample comprised health professionals from the main professional groups supporting patients with chronic progressive illnesses in West Yorkshire and London. The survey included items adapted from the Normalisation MeAsure Development questionnaire implementation measure. Survey responses were analysed using descriptive statistics and latent class analysis. Free-text responses relating to alternative approaches to advance care planning documentation were analysed using a directed content analysis approach. There was a dominance of responses from participants based on primary care practices, which may reflect general practitioners being largely responsible for initiating an Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems record in one region of the survey (West Yorkshire). This survey is reliant on self-reported responses to items and may have also included respondents more engaged with or interested in Electronic Palliative Care Coordination Systems, representing a skewed positive perspective of the systems and how they are being used in practice.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/hsdr/NIHR136238

Year Published: 2025

URL for published report: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/published-articles/XCGE3294

URL for additional information: English

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Full HTA

Country: England, United Kingdom

DOI: 10.3310/XCGE3294

Organisation Name: NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research programme

Contact Address: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK

Contact Name: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk

Contact Email: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk