Quality improvement study demonstrates a 31% increase in clinician comfort during end-of-life resuscitation in oncology, suggesting reduced frontline moral distress.
Key Points
To develop, implement, and assess an interdisciplinary proactive support team intended to alleviate moral distress and guide frontline staff caring for terminally ill oncology patients requesting cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Utilized the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Model for Improvement to establish a 24/7 interdisciplinary SAGE team comprising advanced practice providers, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, and spiritual care providers.
Evaluated team performance over a one-year period through tracked activations, multidisciplinary case reviews, and staff postactivation comfort surveys.
The SAGE team logged 62 activations during its first year—exceeding anticipated volume threefold—with 54% of activations initiated earlier than expected.
Thirteen patients required resuscitation and died during hospitalization.
Postactivation survey responses demonstrated a 31% increase in staff comfort in caring for this patient cohort.