Objective:

to study possible changes in the profile of patients with advanced chronic conditions between two cohorts at the time of their inclusion in a palliative-care-home care support team (PCHCST) in the framework of implementation of chronicity strategies.

Method:

A retrospective, observational analytical study was performed on non-oncological patients referred to a PCHCST in Madrid, divided into two cohorts (2014 and 2019) defined by the time of inclusion in the programme. The main variables were time spent in the programme (TSP), symptom burden (SB) and functional status (FS). Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected. The effect of the cohort (crude and adjusted) on the main variables was compared overall and by sex using LogRank and Cox for TSP, student t test for SB and FS and Generalized Linear Models for FS.

Results:

The 2014 and 2019 cohorts consisted respectively of 98 and 116 patients, 63% and 52% female, 48% and 35% rural and 43% and 27% nursing home residents, with similar mean age and place of death. For TSP, no statistically significant differences were detected between the two cohorts (P = 0.098); Cox analysis did not reveal any association either (HR = 1.01 [0.75; 1.36]). No clinically relevant differences were found for SB. No differences were observed for FS adjusted for age, sex and nursing home residence.

Conclusion:

No differences were observed in the profile of patients with advanced chronic conditions included in the PCHCST between 2014 and 2019 in the framework of implementation of chronicity strategies.

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