Qualitative Insights on PROM Use in Palliative Care

In addition to the study questionnaire, we conducted semi-structured interviews administered by trained researchers online or by telephone according to an interview guide prepared by our research team. Interviews were conducted by NI, who had interview training and experience in qualitative research. The researcher explained the purpose of the study to the participating institutions. Interviews were conducted between February and April 2020. The interview was administered to gather more insight into specific examples illustrating the usefulness of PROs as well as barriers to the effective collection and use of PROs in palliative care clinical practice; it also helped to gain a better understanding of information on the improvement of processes relevant to the administration of PROMs at each facility.
The interviews included questions relevant to the healthcare providers’ opinions on the use of PROMs for patients receiving palliative care, what the providers felt had been helpful or good about using PROMs for patients receiving palliative care, the usefulness of PROMs in informing care, and improvements in processes for administering PROMs at the healthcare providers’ institution (e.g., staff training and operational methods). The interviews were recorded on an integrated circuit (IC) recorder with the institution’s consent. The coding was compared and two authors (NI, YI) discussed discrepancies to inform the final coding with supervision.