General Information and Objectives
A Study of Practice Patterns and Outcomes
The DOPPS is a prospective cohort study based on the collection of observational
longitudinal data for a random sample of patients from a representative and
random sample of units in 12 countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, France,
Germany, Japan, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the
United States). In view of differences in patient outcomes of mortality and
morbidity by country and by dialysis unit, it is hypothesized that:
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Differences in practice patterns correlate with outcome differences
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Understanding the factors associated with patient outcomes will lead to
improved patient care and lower mortality and morbidity
Practice Patterns
Practice Patterns refer to the general range of treatment options faced by
dialysis units. Examples of practice patterns that may be related to outcomes
include: staffing ratios and composition, size of unit, vascular access
creation and salvage policies, dialyser reuse and methods of delivering
dialysis.
Outcomes
Outcomes refers to a variety of patient events that are associated with human
and economic consequences. Important outcomes include: mortality, hospital
admission, vascular access failure, quality of life, and development of new
medical conditions.
What is Unique About the DOPPS
Longitudinal
The DOPPS is longitudinal and will collect information on units and patients in
twelve countries using a common protocol over time. With a focus on the full
range of unit practice patterns that may relate to clinically important
outcomes, the outcomes measures will be adjusted for patient comorbidities and
adjusted to a greater extent than previously possible in other studies.
International
The international scope of the DOPPS provides greater variability in practice
patterns and outcomes than can be observed in one country. This increased
variation along with the study's large sample size leads to a greatly enhanced
ability to understand the relationships between various treatment effects and
patient outcomes.
The efforts of the DOPPS to obtain a representative, random sample of facilities
and patients within each country allows for practice patterns within a
participating country to be described.