Palliative & supportive care
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Palliat Support Care · Sep 2010
Multicenter StudyFactors influencing older adults to complete advance directives.
The purpose of this study was to determine the factors which influence advance directive (AD) completion among older adults. ⋯ This study suggests that among older adults, the probability of completing ADs is related to personal requests by health care providers, educational level, and exposure to advance care planning media campaigns.
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Palliat Support Care · Sep 2010
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyMaking sense of health and illness in palliative care: volunteers' perspectives.
To encourage communication and contribute to the palliative care movement's need for interdisciplinary care, this article offers to explore the stance of volunteers on two fundamental concepts, "health" and "illness," as well as their related understanding of "palliative care." Volunteers' understandings are then compared with the concepts put forth by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) in its "Model to Guide Hospice Palliative Care." ⋯ Participants describe illness as a destabilizing loss and palliative care as a means to compensate for the numerous consequences this loss brings; their actions reflect these principles and are compatible with the CHPCA model.
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Palliat Support Care · Sep 2010
Involvement in everyday life for people with a life threatening illness.
In many studies, everyday life has been shown to be of great significance in the context of life-threatening cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate how people with cancer who are receiving palliative care engage in and undertake activities in their everyday lives. ⋯ This study has demonstrated the power of being involved in everyday life activities. The proposed model, explaining individuals' desire to continue to live an active life despite a progressive loss of functioning, can provide a model to help the reasoning of professionals when supporting patients in their everyday life.
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Palliat Support Care · Sep 2010
What makes grief difficult? Perspectives from bereaved family caregivers and healthcare providers of advanced cancer patients.
Family members who take on the role of caregiving for someone who is dying begin bereavement after being emotionally and physically taxed by the caregiving experience. The course of bereavement is influenced by a number of factors, including health problems, financial concerns, social support, and family relationships. This paper reports on findings from a secondary analysis of qualitative data from a study examining family caregiver coping in end-of-life cancer care, to describe, from the perspectives of bereaved family caregivers, their perspectives on what made their grief difficult. ⋯ The findings provide an important beginning point in understanding the types of issues that seem to make grief difficult for family caregivers of cancer patients at the end of life and can help professional groups to understand what is needed by family caregivers in terms of support and delivery of services.