Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42410946›Full record

ArticleJournal of nursing management2026

Development of a Quality Assessment Index System for Palliative Care Services in Chinese Nursing Homes: A Modified Delphi and Analytic Hierarchy Process Study.

Lu Zhang, Xiao-Qin Wu, Ling Tan, Ping-Pin Wen, Zhi-Xiang Sun, Mei-Fang Yang, Yue-Lin Huang, Jing Fu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of nursing management, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Lu ZhangSchool of Nursing, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9977-1320
Xiao-Qin WuOrthopaedic Centre, Second People's Hospital of Yibin, Yibin, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.
Ling TanSchool of Nursing, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.
Ping-Pin WenSchool of Nursing, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.
Zhi-Xiang SunSchool of Nursing, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.
Mei-Fang YangSchool of Nursing, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.
Yue-Lin HuangDepartment of Geriatrics, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4574-2499
Jing FuDepartment of Nursing, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, China, scu.edu.cn.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5616-8791

Funding

Annual Scientific Research Project of the Sichuan Hospital Management and Development Research Centre SCYG2025-28Science and Technology Programme of the Luzhou Bureau of Science, Technology, and Talent Work 2023SYF117Southwest Medical University 2024LZXNYDJ100
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAs the population ages, nursing homes are key end-of-life care settings, making high-quality palliative care essential for safeguarding older adults' quality of life. However, China currently lacks a unified and systematic tool for evaluating the quality of palliative care services in nursing homes.

aimTo develop a quality assessment index system for palliative care services tailored to Chinese nursing homes.

methodsThe study employed a mixed-methods design with three phases: (1) a literature review (40 studies, 36 policy/guideline documents; 2013-2023) and semistructured interviews with stakeholders from 6 nursing homes; (2) three rounds of modified Delphi expert consultation (n = 31, 27, 23) to revise and refine the indicators; and (3) application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine indicator weights.

resultsThe final index system comprises 3 first-level, 22 second-level, and 47 third-level indicators. The expert authority coefficient (Cr) exceeded 0.85 across all consultation rounds. Expert consensus increased with each round (Kendall's W: 0.189 to 0.315, p < 0.05). AHP results indicated that among the first-level indicators, "process" had the highest weight (0.4114), followed by "structure" (0.3208) and "outcome" (0.2678). Within these dimensions, the highest weighted second-level indicators were "human resources planning and management" (0.0836), "comfort care services" (0.0861), and "quality of symptom management" (0.0438). Furthermore, key third-level indicators included "financial support and management" (0.0632), "basic nursing services" (0.0465), and "quality of symptom assessment and management" (0.0438).

conclusionThis study developed a scientifically grounded quality assessment index system for palliative care services in Chinese nursing homes, which offers a preliminary framework for institutional self-evaluation and quality improvement efforts pending further empirical validation. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Once empirically validated, the framework may assist managers and staff in nursing homes to identify service gaps, optimize resource allocation, and support a shift toward an "older adult-centered" holistic care model.

Indexed as

Nursing HomesPalliative CareQuality Assurance, Health CareQuality Indicators, Health CareChinaDelphi TechniqueFemaleHumansQuality of Health Careanalytic hierarchy processDelphi techniquenursing homespalliative carequality indicatorsstructure–process–outcome model

Identifiers

PMID42410946
PMCPMC13338572

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.