1 Volume 2018; Issue 01 Archives of Palliative Care and Medicine Review Article Sailian SD, et al. Arch Palliat Care Med: APCM-103. Palliative Care Assessment Tools for Older Adults Silva Dakessian Sailian * , Huda Abu-Saad Huijer, Suzanne Dhaini, Marina Adra Hariri School of Nursing American University of Beirut, Lebanon * Corresponding author: Silva Dakessian Sailian, Hariri School of Nursing, American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Tel: +9611374374; Fax: +9611744476, Email: huda.huijer@aub.edu.lb Citation: Sailian SD, Huijer HAS, Dhaini S, Adra M (2018) Palliative Care Assessment Tools for Older Adults. Arch Palliat Care Med: APCM-103. DOI: 10.29011/ APCM-103. 000003 Received Date: 11 October 2017; Accepted Date: 23 January, 2018; Published Date: 31 January, 2018 Abstract Background: The global population of people aged 60 years and older is expected to more than double. The prevalence of multiple chronic diseases among individuals is substantial among older adults. Therefore, palliative care remains a central part of healthcare services provision whether in the community or institutions. Assessing older adults’ palliative care needs is the frst step to delivering quality comprehensive care. Objectives: This review aims to describe existing assessment tools used to measure palliative care needs of older adults, their scope of use, content, and psychometrics. Methods: A systematic review search in electronic databases CINAHL, MedLine OVID, Psych Info, and Academic Search Complete, was conducted for the years 2000 to 2016. Older patients with palliative care needs regardless of their setting were included. Results: The initial search yielded 942 articles. 17 articles met the inclusion criteria, describing 9 palliative care assessment tools used for older patients in various settings. Conclusion: This review increases understanding of existing tools to assess older patients with palliative care needs. It can be concluded that no ideal tools are available to allow care providers to detect palliative care needs at an earlier stage in older adults. The POS and RAI tools demonstrated better comprehensiveness and sensitivity to change in comparison to others. DOI: 10.29011/ APCM-103. 000003 Keywords: Assessment Tool; Older Adult; Palliative Care; Systematic Review Introduction The global population of people aged 60 years and older is expected to more than double, rising from 900 million in 2015 to about 2 billion in 2050 [1]. In 2030, when the last baby boomer turns 65, more than 20% of the U.S. population will be an older adult [2]. Similarly, by 2050, estimates indicate that more than one quarter of the population of the European Region will be aged 65 years and older. Specifcally, the greatest percentage increase will be among people aged 85+ years [3]. For older adults, good health ensures independence and security as they age. Unfortunately, millions battle everyday with the burden of chronic diseases [2]. A chronic disease refers to a “condition that lasts a year or more and requires ongoing medical attention and/or limits activities of daily living” [4]. In fact, the prevalence of multiple chronic diseases among individuals is substantial among older adults [5]. For example, more than one in four Americans have multiple concurrent chronic conditions, including arthritis, asthma, chronic respiratory conditions, diabetes, heart disease, human immunodefciency virus infection, and hypertension [6]. Older adults are disproportionally affected by other chronic conditions including malnourishment, confusion, functional decline, incontinence, anxiety and sleep deprivation [7]. Consequently, chronic diseases can limit a person`s ability to perform daily functions and lead to dependence [2]. Therefore, palliative care remains a central part of healthcare services provision. Palliative care refers to the “approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identifcation and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual” [8]. The physical