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Applicability and Prognostic Value of the Surprise Question in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Mixed-Methods Study

Description

Assessing the prognosis of people with Parkinson’s disease remains a challenge. The surprise question — “Would you be surprised if this patient were to die within the next 12 months?” — has proven useful in predicting mortality among patients with life-limiting illnesses. However, there is very limited data available for individuals with Parkinson’s disease, particularly in inpatient settings. In the planned prospective study, we aim to examine over the course of one year whether the surprise question can identify Parkinson’s patients with a prognosis of less than 12 months and whether the question can be used by different healthcare professionals to predict mortality. To this end, statistical analyses will be conducted to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for three groups of healthcare professionals: senior neurologists, neurology residents, and nursing staff.

Following this quantitative study, a complementary qualitative sub-study is planned to evaluate the applicability and perceived usefulness of the surprise question from the perspective of the participating healthcare professionals.

Contact

Dr. Anna Pedrosa, M.Sc. (study coordinator)
Telefone: 06421/58 - 65299
Fax: 06421/58 - 67055
pedrosaa@staff.*

* please add "uni-marburg.de" for a full email-address.