Assessment of patient symptom burden and information needs helps tailoring palliative care consultations: An observational study.

Objective: The objective of this study is to study (1) the relationship between patient-reported symptom burden and information needs in hospital-based palliative care and (2) differences in patient-reported needs during the disease trajectory.

Methods: Observational study: patient-reported symptom burden and information needs were collected via a conversation guide comprising assessment scales for 12 symptoms (0-10), the question which symptom has priority to be solved and a question prompt list on 75 palliative care-related items (35 topics, 40 questions). Non-parametric tests assessed associations.