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A randomized controlled trial of a hospital at home service for the terminally ill
Grande GE, Todd CJ, Barclay SI, Farquhar MC
Palliative Medicine 2000 Sep;14(5):375-385
clinical trial
6/10 [Eligibility criteria: Yes; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: Yes; Baseline comparability: No; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: No; Adequate follow-up: Yes; Intention-to-treat analysis: Yes; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed*

This study evaluated the impact of a Cambridge hospital at home service (CHAH) on patients' quality of care, likelihood of remaining at home in their final 2 weeks of life and general practitioner (GP) visits. The design was a randomized controlled trial, comparing CHAH with standard care. The patient's district nurse, GP and informal carer were surveyed within 6 weeks of patient's death, and 225 district nurses, 194 GPs and 144 informal carers of 229 patients responded. There was no clear evidence that CHAH increased likelihood of remaining at home during the final 2 weeks of life. However, the service was associated with fewer GP out of hours visits. All respondent groups rated CHAH favourably compared to standard care but emphasized different aspects. District nurses rated CHAH as better than standard care in terms of adequacy of night care and support for the carer, GPs in terms of anxiety and depression, and informal carers in terms of control of pain and nausea. Thus whilst CHAH was not found to increase the likelihood of remaining at home, at appeared to be associated with better quality home care.

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