Validity and Reliability of the IPOS
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validity and Reliability of the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS)
IRAS ID
124991
Contact name
Fliss Murtagh
Contact email
Research summary
The Palliative care Outcome Scale (POS) is a brief clinical questionnaire developed to comprehensively assess palliative care needs. It has been used to inform clinical practice as well as measure service interventions. A staff version of the POS has been developed. In addition to the core POS, the Palliative care Outcome Scale Symptom List (POS-S) was developed to capture more detailed information about specific symptoms. We aim to develop an Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) which is able to assess both palliative care needs and specific symptoms.
This study will be conducted in two phases. Phase one will consist of completion of the IPOS by patients and healthcare staff. This will be followed by interviews to explore participant’s views of the tool, its comprehensibility and acceptability, and the degree to which the tool measures what it intends to measure. Based on these findings the IPOS will be refined.
Phase two will consist of data collection at two time points. At time point one the Patient IPOS will be completed by patients alongside two other questionnaires. At a similar time the Staff IPOS will also be completed by two healthcare professionals involved in this patient’s care, alongside another questionnaire. At time point two (1-21 days later), the Patient and Staff IPOS will be completed again alongside a question to see if the clinical condition has changed.
The study will be run from the Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation at King’s College London. Patients will be recruited from three sites and include a mixture of hospital and hospice inpatients, and patients known to a community palliative care team. The study will recruit for six months with an estimated sample size of 170 participants.
This study will be funded by National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research.
REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/0573
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion