Development and adaptation of Colombia-specific module of SPARC-Sp in rural and urban health institutions in Colombia

Palliative Care (PC) aims to enhance the quality of life for patients and families with life-threatening illnesses by addressing holistic needs, including physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and other symptoms, to prevent and alleviate suffering (1-2). In our previous collaborative work (PUJ/QUB) we identified multiple challenges in the implementation of PC in Colombia, such as limited services in rural areas, lack of inclusion of PC in university training of health professionals, lack of integration of PC within comprehensive health care, misconceptions about the PC and high illiteracy rates(3). The Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care (SPARC) is a multidimensional questionnaire designed to identify patients' holistic needs(4-5). Through collaborative work (PUJ/QUB), we validated SPARC for the Colombian clinical context (SPARC-Sp) with 507 participants, demonstrating acceptable reliability(6-8). However, SPARC-Sp requires the development of a module specific to Colombia (SPARC-Sp+) which includes items relevant to the Colombian context (e.g., difficulties within the health system, administrative barriers, violence, and insecurity). Some items also need subtle modification to improve level of understanding of specific items(9).