Home › Research › Getting a diagnosis
Are there differences in the prevalence of palliative care-related problems in people living with advanced cancer and eight non-cancer conditions? A systematic review
Moens K, Higginson IJ, Harding R, EURO IMPACT.. Journal of pain and symptom management, 2014-05-05
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Context If access to effective palliative care is to extend beyond cancer patients, an understanding of the comparative prevalence of palliative care problems among cancer and non-cancer patients is necessary. Objectives This systematic review aimed to describe and compare the prevalence of seventeen palliative care-related problems across the four palliative care domains among adults with advanced cancer, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, chronic heart failure, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease, Parkinson's disease, and dementia. Methods Three databases were searched using three groups of keywords. The results of the extraction of the prevalence figures were summarized. Results The electronic searches yielded 4697 hits after the removal of 1784 duplicates. Of these hits, 143 met the review criteria. The greatest number of studies were found for advanced cancer (n=57) and ESRD patients (n=47), and 75 of the 143 studies used validated scales. Few data were available for people living with multiple sclerosis (n=2) and motor neuron disease (n=3). The problems with a prevalence of 50% or more found across most of the nine studied diagnostic groups were: pain, fatigue, anorexia, dyspnea, and worry. Conclusion There are commonalities in the prevalence of problems across cancer and non-cancer patients, highlighting the need for palliative care to be provided irrespective of diagnosis. The methodological heterogeneity across the studies and the lack of non-cancer studies need to be addressed in future research.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Moens, K., Higginson, I. J., Harding, R., & IMPACT, E. U. R. O. (2014). Are there differences in the prevalence of palliative care-related problems in people living with advanced cancer and eight non-cancer conditions? A systematic review. Journal of pain and symptom management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.11.009
Vancouver
Moens K, Higginson IJ, Harding R, IMPACT EURO. Are there differences in the prevalence of palliative care-related problems in people living with advanced cancer and eight non-cancer conditions? A systematic review. Journal of pain and symptom management. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.11.009. PMID: 24801658.
BibTeX
@article{moens2014-24801658,
author = {Moens, K. and Higginson, I. J. and Harding, R. and IMPACT, EURO},
title = {{Are there differences in the prevalence of palliative care-related problems in people living with advanced cancer and eight non-cancer conditions? A systematic review}},
journal = {Journal of pain and symptom management},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.11.009},
pmid = {24801658},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.11.009}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The results of the extraction of the prevalence figures were summarized.
- Results The electronic searches yielded 4697 hits after the removal of 1784 duplicates.
Why it matters
This systematic review compared the prevalence of palliative care problems in people with advanced cancer and eight non-cancer conditions, including dementia. It concerns symptom burden and palliative care, not treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Getting a diagnosis →
Study details
- Study designsystematic review
- Participants57
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 65/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of pain and symptom management) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Pain and Symptom Management: journal h-index 213 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2014 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 57 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 445 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 31.8 citations a year over 14 year(s) since 2014 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 6 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 111 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Lieve Van den Block: h-index 56 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | King's College London: institution h-index 1,348 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24801658) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 65 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.11.009
- PubMed: 24801658
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Related
Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.
Later studies that cite this one
6 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Getting a diagnosis
Also tagged “palliative”
858 studies in the library carry the topic tag “palliative”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 858 tagged studies.