Best-practice care for people with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the potential role of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease care co-ordinator

Abstract

Green Open AccessAll journals published by CSIRO Publishing allow authors to deposit the Accepted version of their manuscript into an institutional repository or put it on a personal website, with no embargo.The Accepted version is the author-created, peer-reviewed, accepted manuscript. The Publisher's edited or typeset versions cannot be used. The institutional repository should be that of the institution employing the author at the time the work was conducted or PubMed Central. We ask that authors link to the published version on the CSIRO Publishing website, wherever possible. The importance of care co-ordination as a quality care indicator in chronic disease is growing, and the care co-ordinator role as a facilitator of quality care is increasingly being recognised in the UK and US. There is currently little information in the Australian context about how a COPD care co-ordinator role could be implemented, where it could be situated and the level of skill required. What does this paper add?This paper explores the specific issues in developing a COPD care co-ordinator role and provides a detailed model of care for the introduction of care coordinators into the Australian setting. What are the implications for practitioners?The proposed COPD care co-ordinator role has the potential to improve quality, continuing care for people with advanced COPD. It could facilitate the linkage of multidisciplinary teams across acute, primary and community care settings and promote timely and effective communication. The role would provide a clear point of contact for all practitioners and the opportunity for nurses to develop an advanced practice role in COPD care co-ordination, combining a palliative care approach with a chronic disease management framework.

Exploring patients’ and health professionals’ perspectives on health literacy needs in the context of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…8 Thus, help is needed to navigate a complex healthcare system providing multiple services, both in SHS and MHS. 32 It was also expressed by those with COPD that there was too little time in which to ask for information from HCP. This also seemed to be a frustration for HCPs.…”

Palliative care integration for patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Identifying essential components using participatory action research

“…This research reiterates already known essential elements for palliative care integration in advanced COPD, such as holistic needs' assessment, educational initiatives and modalities of service delivery. [30][31][32] However, this study addresses the identification of key features each essential element should include to allow and foster the process of palliative care integration in patients with advanced COPD, while being supported by a Theory of Change framework. Firstly, multidimensional needs' assessment should consider three aspects, such as patients' needs (the 'what'), palliative care timing ('the when') and identification of palliative care recipients (the 'who').…”

Palliative Care Provision for Patients with Advanced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Integrative Literature Review

“…44 Continuity of care and organizational changes were discussed through models of integrated palliative care in advanced COPD which explored the role of a care-coordinator. 29,45 Burgess and colleagues explored service availability and accessibility through interviews and focus groups with patients, informal caregivers and healthcare professionals. 45 Elkington and colleagues conducted semi-structured interviews with bereaved relatives, trying to capture the experiences of the last year of life in COPD.…”

“…29,45 Burgess and colleagues explored service availability and accessibility through interviews and focus groups with patients, informal caregivers and healthcare professionals. 45 Elkington and colleagues conducted semi-structured interviews with bereaved relatives, trying to capture the experiences of the last year of life in COPD. 29 Both studies promoted a patient-centred model of care for advanced COPD, supporting a structured multidisciplinary approach in each care setting.…”