Web-Based Post-Bereavement Survey System in Specialized Palliative Care: A Feasibility Pilot Study.

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Health Services Research
• Survey Methodology

Background:

• Assessing palliative care quality post-bereavement is crucial for continuous improvement.
• Traditional mail surveys can be costly and time-consuming.
• Web-based systems offer potential for more efficient data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a web-based post-bereavement survey system for specialized palliative care.
• To compare response rates between long (34-item) and short (16-item) web-based surveys.
• To examine potential response bias between web-based and mail surveys.

Main Methods:

• Two cross-sectional web-based surveys were conducted among bereaved families from six Japanese inpatient palliative care units (Jan-Apr 2019).
• Surveys assessed end-of-life (EOL) care, satisfaction, good death achievement, depression, grief, and usability.
• Response rates and bias were compared between survey lengths and with previous mail surveys.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in response rates between the long (24%) and short (27%) surveys (p = 0.376).
• Increased response from adult children compared to previous mail surveys; overall quality ratings remained unchanged.
• Despite a low overall response rate, no apparent response bias was detected, indicating feasibility.

Conclusions:

• Web-based post-bereavement surveys are a feasible, low-cost, and less burdensome method for palliative care quality assurance.
• The survey length did not significantly impact response rates.
• This approach facilitates timely feedback collection from a broader participant base.