URL:

http://www.gwu.edu/~cicd/

Description:

The Center to Improve Care for the Dying (CICD) is a unique, interdisciplinary team of committed individuals, engaged in research, public advocacy, and education activities to improve the care of the dying and their families. At the bottom of the page select "Toolkit of Instruments"

Types of Information or Instruments:

The section on instruments has a page for each of seven areas, which includes:

• pain
• depression
• functional status
• survival time and aggressiveness of care
• continuity of care
• spirituality
• patient and family satisfaction with quality of care.

The different pages are similarly constructed, beginning with an overview, followed by literature review listing potential instruments, and finally a review of potential instruments. The reviews of instruments ask and answer such questions as the type of conceptual measurement model that it fits, psychometric information, time to complete, and whether there exists an alternative form of the instrument.

Quantity of Instruments:

There are reviews of 26 instruments that were considered potentially useful for measuring end-of-life care. There are many more instruments listed that are not critiqued.

Quality of Instrument Descriptions:

Instrument descriptions vary in length and detail, and descriptions appear to be of higher quality for the instruments which are favored by the reviewers. There is sparse critical evaluation of the instruments.

Quality of Psychometric Information:

Psychometrics is reported, and includes reliability, three types of validity, and Cronbach's alpha.

Scale accessibility:

There is information on where one can obtain the instruments.

Site provides actual scale items:

The site does not provide actual scale items.

User-friendly navigation:

This site is easy to navigate.

Other types of Information:

None.

Hints:

This site has actually been moved to another URL, and is known as the Toolkit of Instruments to Measure End-of-Life Care (also reviewed by METRIC). These pages have not been updated for several years and as such, one may find the new site much more helpful.

Category:

Utilization Variables > End-of-life Care