{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T13:01:04Z","timestamp":1790686864064,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790726400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Patients with advanced life-limiting diseases (ALLDs) are often admitted to district hospitals for acute curative care, resulting in delayed or omitted palliative care. Early identification by clinicians ensured better care, efficient resource use and prevented avoidable hospitalisations. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and profile of admitted adult patients with palliative care needs at National District Hospital (NDH).\nMethods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. Investigators identified palliative care needs based on the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool South Africa (Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool [SPICT]\u2122-SA) criteria.\nResults: Out of 297 patient records reviewed, 127 (42.8%) met the criteria for palliative care based on SPICT\u2122-SA. The most common qualifying disease-specific diagnoses included infectious diseases (21.8%), neurological conditions (15.6%), dementia or frailty (13.6%), and kidney disease (15.0%), while cancer (including haematological malignancies) accounted for 10.9%. The general indicators qualifying for palliative care included frequent unplanned visits (39.3%), poor functional status (26.2%) and dependence on others for care (24.3%).\nConclusion: The findings pointed to a gap in recognising palliative care needs among hospitalised patients, especially those with non-malignant conditions. Introducing routine screening using the SPICT\u2122-SA tool at the district level supported earlier identification and enabled planning of care. This led to improved patient outcomes and effective use of health system resources.\nContribution: The study demonstrated how routine screening with the SPICT\u2122-SA tool during admission could help identify palliative care needs in a district hospital.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/jcmsa.v4i1.465","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T12:30:57Z","timestamp":1790685057000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Palliative care needs at a South African district hospital: A descriptive study using supportive and palliative care indicators tool South Africa"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-3865-2856","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Louis D.K.","family":"Roodt","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/009xwd568","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5092-2957","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cornel F.","family":"van Rooyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/009xwd568","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5183-5345","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hanneke","family":"Brits","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/009xwd568","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of the Free State"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","unstructured":"National Department of Health, South Africa. Essential drugs program. Hospital-level (adults) standard treatment guidelines and essentials [homepage on the Internet]. Pretoria: National Department of Health; 2019 [cited 2024 Nov 15]. Available from: https:\/\/www.health.gov.za\/nhi-hpp-edp\/"},{"key":"ref1","unstructured":"World Health Assembly. Strengthening of palliative care as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course [homepage on the Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2014 [cited 2024 Nov 17]. Available from: https:\/\/apps.who.int\/gb\/ebwha\/pdf_files\/wha67\/a67_r19-en.pdf"},{"key":"ref2","unstructured":"Oishi AI. Exploring how Japanese family physicians understand palliative care and identify patients for primary palliative care [homepage on the Internet]. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh; 2021 [cited 2024 Nov 15]. Available from: https:\/\/era.ed.ac.uk\/handle\/1842\/38187"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Arendse JO, Zweigenthal V, Gwyther L. 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Palliative care fact sheet [homepage on the Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2020 [cited 2024 Nov 15]. Available from: https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/palliative-care"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Highet G, Crawford D, Murray S, Boyd K. Development and evaluation of the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT): A mixed-methods study. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2014;4:285\u2013290. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjspcare-2013-000488","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjspcare-2013-000488"},{"key":"ref8","unstructured":"The University of Edinburgh. Supportive and palliative care indicator tool (SPICT) [homepage on the Internet]. 2022 [cited 2023 Jan 27]. Available from: https:\/\/www.spict.org.uk\/the-spict\/"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"O\u2019Callaghan A, Laking G, Frey R, Robinson J, Gott M. Can we predict which hospitalised patients are in their last year of life? A prospective cross-sectional study of the gold standards framework prognostic indicator guidance as a screening tool in the acute hospital setting. Palliat Med. 2014;28(8):1046\u20131052. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0269216314536089","DOI":"10.1177\/0269216314536089"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Krause R, Barnard A, Burger H, et al. A Delphi study to guide the development of a clinical indicator tool for palliative care in South Africa. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2022;14(1):a3351. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/phcfm.v14i1.3351","DOI":"10.4102\/phcfm.v14i1.3351"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Terwin K, Ferreira M, Minnie C, et al. The epidemiological profile of meningitis among adults in a South African district hospital. Pan Afr Med J. 2022;41:256. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.11604\/pamj.2022.41.256.30015","DOI":"10.11604\/pamj.2022.41.256.30015"},{"key":"ref12","unstructured":"National District Hospital. Morbidity and mortality report, April 2022 \u2013 March 2023 [homepage on the Internet]. Bloemfontein: NDH; 2023 [cited 2024 Nov 15]. Available from: https:\/\/provincialgovernment.co.za\/department_annual\/1340\/2023-free-state-health-annual-report.pdf"},{"key":"ref13","unstructured":"Free State Department of Health. Annual report 2022 [homepage on the Internet]. Bloemfontein: Free State Department of Health; 2022 [cited 2024 Nov 15]. Available from: https:\/\/provincialgovernment.co.za\/department_annual\/1168\/2022-free-state-health-annual-report.pdf"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Van Niekerk L, Raubenheimer PJ. A point-prevalence survey of public hospital inpatients with palliative care needs in Cape Town, South Africa. S Afr Med J. 2014;104(2):138\u2013141.","DOI":"10.7196\/samj.7262"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Straeuli C, Jenkins L, Droomer N. 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The prevalence and profile of patients with palliative care needs at National District Hospital: A descriptive study [unpublished dissertation]. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State; 2025."}],"container-title":["Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/jcmsa.org.za\/index.php\/jcmsa\/article\/view\/465\/1326","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T12:31:13Z","timestamp":1790685073000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jcmsa.org.za\/index.php\/jcmsa\/article\/view\/465"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]]},"references-count":19,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/jcmsa.v4i1.465","relation":{},"ISSN":["3105-4331","2960-110X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"3105-4331","type":"print"},{"value":"2960-110X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]]},"article-number":"a465"}}