Gardiner, C. orcid.org/0000-0003-1785-7054, Ryan, T. and Gott, M. (2018) What is the cost of palliative care in the UK? A systematic review. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 8 (3). pp. 250-257. ISSN 2045-435X
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the cost of a palliative care approach in the UK, and there is an absence of robust activity and unit cost data. The aim of this study was to review evidence on the costs of specialist and generalist palliative care in the UK, and to explore different approaches used for capturing activity and unit cost data. METHODS: A systematic review with narrative synthesis. Four electronic databases were searched for empirical literature on the costs of a palliative care approach in the UK, and a narrative method was used to synthesise the data. RESULTS: Ten papers met our inclusion criteria. The studies displayed significant variation in their estimates of the cost of palliative care, therefore it was not possible to present an accurate aggregate cost of palliative care in the UK. The majority of studies explored costs from a National Health Service perspective and only two studies included informal care costs. Approaches to estimating activity and costs varied. Particular challenges were noted with capturing activity and cost data for hospice and informal care. CONCLUSION: The data are limited, and the heterogeneity is such that it is not possible to provide an aggregate cost of palliative care in the UK. It is notable that the costs of hospice care and informal care are often neglected in economic studies. Further work is needed to address methodological and practical challenges in order to gain a more complete understanding of the costs of palliative care.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in BMJ Publishing Group. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | cost; economic; palliative care; resource utilisation; systematic review |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Nursing and Midwifery (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 23 Apr 2018 11:27 |
Last Modified: | 17 Nov 2020 10:51 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | BMJ Publishing Group |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-001519 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:129740 |