Purpose: In a community setting characterised by scarce inpatient palliative care resources, a precise prognosis could help determine which patients should be prioritised for end-of-life admission.
Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) and to determine whether it is a helpful tool for nurses to administer as part of the admission protocol in the palliative care service of a community hospital.
Results: The PPI was a moderately accurate prognostic tool when assessing the frequency of 14-day overstay; 81% of patients died within 14 days of their expected prognosis. Based on sensitivity and specificity, the accuracy of the prognoses was acceptable for the 6-week prognosis group (80%), and poor for the 3-week prognostic group (53%). The tool was easy to administer by the admission nurse receiving referrals.
Conclusion: A nurse-administered and minimally-invasive prognostic tool was helpful in this context.
Keywords: Community health services; Palliative care; Patient admission; Prognosis.