End-of-life care in long-term care homes : a scoping review protocol
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Abstract(s)
Background: Quality end-of-life (EOL) care is essential in long-term care homes (LTCHs), as the
average survival time of newly admitted residents is estimated to be around 2 to 2.5 years.
However, significant challenges exist when it comes to providing EOL clinical care in LTCHs,
and the available empirical evidence does not offer a clear idea of the best practices to adopt.
Aim: To systematically map the state of knowledge on EOL clinical care in LTCHs, as it relates
to people receiving care, family care partners, health care professionals, the characteristics of
the organization, the social context, and the implementation of guides.
Methods: The scoping review method by Levac et al. (2010) will be used. Data will be collected
from multiple sources, including eleven databases using a combination of keywords and
descriptors, references list, prospective and manual searches, and by consulting clinicians and
managers from LTCHs for additional publications. The literature from 2012 and onwards will
be selected if it directly concerns EOL care in LTCHs, with no restriction on the age of residents
or on the type of health care professionals or family care partners. The screening and data
extraction will be performed by two people independently and any discrepancies will be
resolved by consensus. We will also assess the quality of publication with the critical appraisal
tools developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. We will synthesize the extracted data using
content analysis and consult stakeholders in LTCHs when a first version of the data synthesis
is available to enhance the interpretation of the results based on their experience. We will
present results in narrative form with tables and graphs.
Discussion: The results will provide evidence-based recommendations for clinical practice
when available findings are conclusive and will allow identifying knowledge gaps to orient
future research programs focusing specifically on EOL clinical care in LTCHs.