Palliative & supportive care
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Palliat Support Care · Mar 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialAdvance care planning in advanced cancer: can it be achieved? An exploratory randomized patient preference trial of a care planning discussion.
Little is known about the effectiveness of advance care planning in the United Kingdom, although policy documents recommend that it should be available to all those with life-limiting illness. ⋯ A randomized trial of advance care planning is possible. This study provides new evidence on its acceptability and effectiveness for patients with advanced cancer.
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Palliat Support Care · Mar 2011
Advance care planning discussions in advanced cancer: analysis of dialogues between patients and care planning mediators.
Advance care planning (ACP) provides patients with an opportunity to consider, discuss, and plan their future care with health professionals. Numerous policy documents recommend that ACP should be available to all with life-limiting illness. ⋯ This article reports on the recorded content of ACP discussions. The extent to which patients want to engage in ACP is variable, and support and training are needed for health professionals to initiate such discussions. Our findings do not fully support the current United Kingdom policy of introducing ACP early in life-threatening disease.
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Palliat Support Care · Mar 2011
Refractory suffering: the impact of team dynamics on the interdisciplinary palliative care team.
This qualitative study aimed to describe the skill sets that experienced palliative care clinicians possess when managing refractory suffering. ⋯ The findings of this study highlight the precarious nature of the interdisciplinary team when significant challenges are faced. As a result of witnessing refractory suffering the division and fracturing of teams can easily occur; often team members are completely unaware of its cause. The findings of this study contribute to the limited literature on the nature of refractory suffering from the perspective of the interdisciplinary team.