GP EoL Care Index

Development and piloting of the German-language version of the General Practice End of Life Care Index

Background

The promotion of palliative care by general practitioners is a declared aim of healthcare policy in order to provide appropriate support for people in the last phase of their lives in the home environment and in nursing homes in a needs-based, graduated care concept.

While no validated instrument for the evaluation of GP care for patients in the last phase of life is yet available in German-speaking countries, the "General Practice End-of-Life Care Index" (GP EoL Care I) was developed and used in the UK by Hughes et al. (Hughes et al. 2010).

A notepad lying on a table with a piece of paper pinned to it. A stethoscope lies on top of the piece of paper and the notepad. One hand holds a pen and fills in the note.
©pabijan - stock.adobe.com

Aims and methods

The aim was to develop and pilot a German-language version of the "General Practice End-of-Life Care Index"
(GP EoL Care I) (©University of Sheffield 2010 funded by Macmillan Cancer Support. All rights reserved.).

A multidisciplinary team (medicine, medical anthropology, nursing science, psychology, sociology) translated and adapted the questionnaire to the framework conditions and special features of GP care in the German healthcare system in consultation with the authors of the English-language instrument.

The methodological approach was based on the TRAPD model (Translation - Review - Adjudication - Pretest - Documentation), which has been tried and tested in transcultural research.


Map of the MHH. Building K23 is circled.
©MHH

Publications

  • Afshar K, Herbst FA, Tetzlaff F, Stiel S, Schneider N, Müller-Mundt G: Hausärztliche Begleitung in der letzten Lebensphase (HA-BeL): Systematic development and adaptation of the German-language version of the General Practice End of Life Care Index HA-BeL ("Hausärztliche Begleitung in der letzten Lebensphase"). Z Evidenz Fortbild Qual Gesundheitswes. 2020; 153-154: 84-96

 

Funding

The project was financed from the Institute of General Practice's own funds.

 

Project team

  • Dr. Gabriele Müller-Mundt
  • Dr. Kambiz Afshar
  • Dr. Franziska Herbst
  • Prof. Dr. Stephanie Stiel
  • Prof. Dr. Nils Schneider

 

Contact:

E-mail: palliativforschung@mh-hannover.de