Consumer views on a new holistic screening tool for supportive and palliative‐care needs

Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care ( SPARC ): a survey of self‐help support groups in health care

Bibliographic Data

ID19508573
AuthorsPhilippa Hughes (Department of Oncology Academic Unit of Supportive Care University of Sheffield Sheffield UK), Nisar Ahmed (0009-0002-9296-8512, Department of Oncology Academic Unit of Supportive Care University of Sheffield Sheffield UK), MICHELLE WINSLOW (Department of Oncology Academic Unit of Supportive Care University of Sheffield Sheffield UK), Stephen J Walters (0000-0001-9000-8126, Health Services Research School of Health and Related Research University of Sheffield Sheffield UK), Karen Collins (0000-0003-0695-7228, Centre for Health and Social Care Research Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield UK), Bill Noble (0000-0002-9525-7970, Department of Oncology Academic Unit of Supportive Care University of Sheffield Sheffield UK)
Year2015
Volume18
Issue4
Pages562-577
Publication date2015-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Expectations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-6513 • E-ISSN: 1369-7625
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/hex.12058
PMID23414548
OpenAlexW2065726984
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited10

BACKGROUND: Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care (SPARC) was developed in response to concerns that palliative care may not be reaching all people who could benefit from it. Acceptability of the tool is an important step in developing its future use. AIMS: To elicit the views of a wide variety of members of consumer and self-help support groups concerned with health care on the relevance, acceptability and the overall perception of using SPARC as an early holistic needs assessment tool in supportive and palliative care. METHODS: This study was conducted in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire (UK). Ninety-nine consumer and self-help groups were identified from information in the public domain. Thirty-eight groups participated. Packs containing study information and self-complete postal questionnaires were distributed to groups, and they were asked to circulate these to their members. Completed questionnaires were returned in pre-paid envelopes to the research team. RESULTS: 135 questionnaires and feedback forms were returned. The majority of respondents found SPARC easy to understand (93% (120/129; 95% Confidence Interval 87% to 96%) and complete (94% (125/133; 95% CI: 88% to 97%). A minority, 12.2% (16/131), of respondents found questions on SPARC 'too sensitive'. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, respondents considered SPARC an acceptable and relevant tool for clinical assessment of supportive and palliative-care needs. Whilst a small minority of people found SPARC difficult to understand (i.e. patients with cognitive impairments), most categories of service user found it relevant. Clinical studies are necessary to establish the clinical utility of SPARC

Family medicine · Needs assessment · Palliative care · Perception · Referral · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Medicine · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Nursing · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology

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