Developing Macroindicators of Palliative Care Development in Africa: A Process with In-Country and International Experts

Background: Indicators specific to the African context are important to measure palliative care (PC) development accurately.

Objective: To describe the process used to develop a set of PC macroindicators for Africa.

Design: Open-ended interviews on national PC development were conducted with five African Country Experts. Indicators were rated (1-4) by 14 Country Experts for validity and feasibility. An additional 11 interviews were conducted to ensure indicator saturation. Indicators scoring ≥3 proceeded to a modified two-round RAND/UCLA Delphi with global experts on PC development (International Committee). Finally, indicators were ranked by the project team.

Setting/subjects: Sixteen country experts from 7 African countries and 14 International Committee members.

Results: One hundred three indicators were rated by Country Experts, and 58 proceeded to the Delphi. Thirty-eight indicators were rated as important by the International Committee, and the project team ranked 19 of these as most important. Service indicators (n = 6) included the number of types of services most important in Africa (e.g., hospices, home based) and coverage. Policy indicators (n = 4) included the existence of PC in national policies, guidelines, and budget and a responsible person. Education indicators (n = 3) consisted of inclusion of PC in medical and nursing curricula and recognition as a specialty. Medicine indicators (n = 4) focused on morphine availability, consumption, and prescribing barriers. Vitality indicators (n = 2) reflected the existence of a national association and its activity.

Conclusion: The process to develop African-specific PC indicators resulted in 19 indicators that were used to measure PC development as a comparative baseline for development in African countries.

CITATION  J Palliat Med. 2018 Mar;21(3):342-353. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2017.0207. Epub 2017 Oct 13