Terms Used

A red book with a pen and calculator. Text saying terminology

Researchers and health care professionals can sometimes use technical language that can be confusing. This page contains some basic definitions of terms that you might hear as part of the PEACE-COS study.

What is critical care?

Critical care is sometimes called intensive care or ICU or ITU. Patients are admitted to a critical care area when they need a higher level of care than the emergency department or general ward can provide. It is a type of care for the diagnosing, management and treatment of very serious and life-threatening illnesses and injuries. Patients in critical care are very closely monitored by specially trained health care professionals and supported by equipment such as a ventilator that helps a patient breathe.

Patients come to critical care for a variety of reasons. Conditions that might need critical care include major complex surgery, serious accidents, or severe infections such as sepsis or pneumonia. The aim of critical care is to treat the cause of the condition and support organs such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys which may not be working properly.

What is end-of-life care?

Sadly some patients do not get better in critical care and die. These patients often need end-of-life care. End-of-life care is not just the care that the patient who is dying receives but also includes the care and support to the people important to them eg bereavement support.

What is a core outcome set (COS)?

A Core Outcome Set (COS) brings together an agreed list of outcomes that all research studies should measure and report as a minimum in a specific health area. If all studies report the same outcomes as a minimum it means that comparisons can be made between studies. A COS is made up of two parts – ‘what’ to measure and ‘how’ to measure. The PEACE-COS study is part of a wider piece of research and will focus on ‘what’ should be measured.

What is an outcome?

An outcome is what is being measured. The PEACE-COS study is looking at what is being and should be measured on patients and their families during end-of-life care studies and how important those receiving end-of-life care and experts think this is.

What is an outcome measurement instrument?

An outcome measurement instrument is how the outcome is being measured. A single question, a questionnaire, a score obtained from a physical examination or laboratory measurement are all examples of outcome measurement instruments. They are tools for measuring the quality or quantity of an outcome.

What is a systematic review?

A systematic review is a complex piece of research that attempts to identify, select, and synthesise all published research on a specific question or topic. They follow a strict scientific design that is based on pre-specified and repeatable methods. The PEACE-COS study team will undertake a systematic review of existing literature to identify outcomes and themes in end-of-life care in critical care. This will result in a unique preparatory list of outcomes and/or measures for review, which will be refined in study stages three and four. Key features of how the systematic review will be undertaken have been published on PROSPERO, an online public access database.

What is an e-Delphi study?

An e-Delphi study is a series of online structured questionnaires (rounds) where key stakeholder groups are asked which outcomes are most important to them. In the PEACE-COS study, stakeholder groups will include family members, researchers, and healthcare professionals with experience of end-of-life care. A list of outcomes that may be important to measure in end-of-life care in critical care studies will be developed by the PEACE-COS study team through reviewing previous studies and speaking with family members with experience of end-of-life care. Participants will be asked to score each outcome presented and suggest outcomes that they believe are important and have not been presented. The PEACE-COS study team will then analyse the results. The outcomes that most participants agreed were important will be put forward to form a core outcome set. The outcomes where there was no agreement on will be carried forward to the second questionnaire to be scored again by participants.