Systematic adaptation of the Thai version of the supportive and palliative care indicators tool for low-income setting (SPICT-LIS).

BACKGROUND: Identification of patients who might benefit from palliative care among countries with different socioeconomic and medical contexts is challenging. The Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool for a Low-income Setting (SPICT-LIS) was designed to help physicians identify patients in low-income setting who might benefit from palliative care. We aimed to systematically adapt and refine the SPICT-LIS for Thai general palliative care providers. METHODS: We followed the WHO guidelines for translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of an instrument for the SPICT-LIS. Three expert panel members did the initial adaptation using forward and backward translations with pretested data. Two iterations of pretesting were conducted to test for applicability and reliability. The case vignettes which were used in the pretesting were modified hospital medical records. The pretesting was done with 30 respondents from various specialties in a community health center and 34 general palliative care providers from a regional referral hospital in the first and second iterations, respectively. To examine instrument reliability, interrater reliability and internal consistency were evaluated. Cognitive interviewing was conducted using semi-structured interviews with general practitioners (GPs) using the "think aloud strategy" and "probing questions". RESULTS: The adapted Thai SPICT-LIS had a total of 34 indicators which included 6 general and 28 clinical indicators. The assessment of the adapted Thai SPICT-LIS found that it provided consistent responses with good agreement among the GPs, with a Fleiss kappa coefficient of 0.93 (0.76-1.00). The administration time was 2.3-4.3 min per case. Most respondents were female. The 8 interviewed GPs said they felt that the SPICT-LIS was appropriate for use in a general setting in Thailand. CONCLUSION: The study found that the Thai SPICT-LIS could be an applicable, acceptable, and reliable tool for general palliative care providers in Thailand to identify patients who might benefit from palliative care.

Exploring the palliative care ecosystem in Thailand: a protocol for a scoping review and bibliometric analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Palliative care is an approach that aims to holistically improve the quality of life, care and death of people living with life-limiting conditions as well as their families. In Thailand, palliative care became one of its national strategies as of 2014. However, the access to as well as the quality of palliative care being delivered still varies across the nation, due to multiple factors spanning multiple levels. Consequently, there is a need to comprehensively understand the current palliative care ecosystem in Thailand. This review aims to explore, map and conceptualise the literature available on the palliative care ecosystem in Thailand, and how the service being delivered influences the quality of life, death and care of people living with life-limiting conditions alongside their families. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This review will consist of two stages. First, a scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews will be initially conducted. A systematic literature search using Medical Subject Heading and text words related to palliative care will be performed in PubMed, CINAHL and Thai Citation Index from 2013 to 2023. Grey literature will be searched via alternative sources: Google keyword searching and stakeholders consultation. References of included sources will be handsearched to identify further resources.The population, concept and context framework is used to frame the inclusion and exclusion criteria. This will be further refined after the initial search, reflecting the iterative nature of a scoping review. Articles will be independently screened by three reviewers. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet will be used as the data extraction tool. Data will be extracted and presented using a narrative synthesis approach.Second, included articles from the scoping review will be further analysed and visualised using a bibliometric analysis technique. This stage involves a computational method, including statistical analysis and content analysis of the articles' bibliographic details. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This paper describes a protocol for a scoping review and bibliographical analysis. As such, ethical approval was not required. Information relating to the review will be stored with Open Science Framework Registries. The findings of this proposed scoping review will be distributed through a peer-reviewed publication, academic seminars, conferences and patients and public involvement groups.