Evidence for Impact: Evaluating Core Treatment Goals in Pediatric Palliative Inpatient Care

<b>Background</b>: In light of the increasing importance of measuring, assuring, and improving the quality of care, this study aimed to evaluate the outcome of care provided at a specialized inpatient PPC unit in consideration of the three PPC core treatment goals: (i) reduction in symptom burden, (ii) improvement of the quality of life, and (iii) strengthening caregiver competency. <b>Methods</b>: Prospective single-center study. Data were collected using the QUASI, a shorter version of the validated FAmily-CEnTered multidimenSional Outcome measure For Pediatric Palliative Care (FACETS-OF-PPC). From 20 October 2020 to 31 December 2024, QUASI was completed by nurses at admission (pre-survey) to an 8-bed specialized inpatient PPC unit and again on the day of discharge (post-survey). Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to identify differences between pre- and post-surveys. In addition to outcome evaluation, psychometric properties of the Caregiver Competencies subscale were assessed (internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis). <b>Results</b>: Pre- and post-data of <i>n</i> = 574 patients have been assessed. Among patients with initially high symptom load, significant improvement in all assessed symptoms could be achieved. Patients with initially low symptom load showed significant improvements in agitation (<i>p</i> = 0.043), pain (<i>p</i> < 0.001), sleep disturbances (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and other symptoms (<i>p</i> = 0.015). Mean scores for the items regarding quality of life also improved significantly between admission and discharge. Caregiver's competency also increased significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.001). <b>Conclusions</b>: Findings suggest that the QUASI can serve as a feasible approach for documenting PPC quality, as it covers core dimensions of PPC very effectively, with the potential to inform clinical practice. Further validation is warranted.