Improving end-of-life care through quality improvement

Although end of life (EoL) care has been identified as an area for quality improvement in hospitals, the quality of care Canadian patients receive at the end of life is not well-evidenced. National statistics indicate that Canadians would prefer to die at home, yet more than 50% die in acute care hospital settings. Busy and often highly specialised acute care units may be perceived as a distressing place of death for both patients and their families. Furthermore, many clinicians are not trained in diagnosing imminent dying, managing symptoms at the end of life or supporting dying patients and their families. As such, to improve the experience of EoL care, a corporate, institution-wide strategy entitled the Quality Dying Initiative was introduced and implemented across a tertiary care academic teaching hospital. A primary focus of this initiative was the implementation of a comprehensive Comfort Measures Strategy. This strategy involved the development of an evidence-based order set, which included elements of symptom assessment and management, patient and family education, and spiritual and emotional support. Staff education and mentoring was also a critical element of the larger Comfort Measures Strategy, as well as an evaluative component.