To construct an evaluation index system for the quality of hospice care services, so as to provide scientific basis for evaluating the clinical practice quality of hospice care in China.

Based on theories related to medical quality, a primary item pool was constructed through literature analysis. From November to December 2023, the Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of consultation with 18 hospice care experts from 10 provinces and municipalities directly under the central government, to establish the indicators at all levels of the evaluation index system. The weights and combination weights of indicators at all levels were calculated using the analytic hierarchy process. The expert's positive coefficient was expressed as the effective response rate of the questionnaire. The degree of expert authority was expressed as the expert authority coefficient. The degree of coordination of expert opinions was represented by Kendall's W and coefficient of variation.

In the two rounds of expert consultation, the effective response rates of the questionnaires were 88.89% (16/18) and 93.75% (15/16), the expert authority coefficients were 0.885 and 0.897, the kendall's W values of the overall indicators were 0.152 and 0.191 (P<0.01), and the coefficients of variation of indicators at all levels were 0 to 0.31 and 0 to 0.21, respectively. The final constructed evaluation index system for the quality of hospice care services included seven first level indicators, 22 second level indicators, and 42 third level indicators.

The evaluation index system for the quality of hospice care services constructed is scientific, comprehensive, and targeted, which can provide reference for the comprehensive evaluation of hospice care service quality in China.

Hospice care; Care quality; Evaluation index; Analytical hierarchy process