International journal of older people nursing
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Int J Older People Nurs · Jun 2014
Diagnosis, prognosis and awareness of dying in nursing homes: towards the Gold Standard?
In Western society and increasingly elsewhere, death has become medicalised and 'hospitalised' even when people are enduring deteriorating terminal conditions such as dementia and heart failure. In an attempt to rationalise and dignify the place and manner of death, evidence is emerging that the adoption of end-of-life care pathways and models can improve the experience of the end-of-life care across a range of care settings. Each of these demands skills and knowledge in the assessment and prediction of the dying trajectory. ⋯ Advance care planning can reduce the distress from and number of inappropriate hospital admissions, but requires determination and consistent application of the approach. This can be very challenging in the face of staff rotation and the unpredictability both of the dying trajectory and the decision-making of some out of hours medical staff.
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Int J Older People Nurs · Jun 2014
Multicenter StudyBuilding capacity in palliative care for personal support workers in long-term care through experiential learning.
Providing palliative care in long-term care (LTC) homes is an area of growing importance. As a result, attention is being given to exploring effective palliative care learning strategies for personal support workers (PSWs) who provide the most hands-on care to LTC residents. ⋯ PSWs need to be recognised as important members within the interdisciplinary team. PSWs who shadow staff at hospices view this experience as a positive strategy to meet their learning needs related to palliative care.
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Int J Older People Nurs · Jun 2014
The burden of caring for people with dementia at the end of life in nursing homes: a postdeath study among nursing staff.
To investigate how often nursing staff perceive caring for nursing home residents with dementia at the end of life as an emotional and/or physical burden, and to identify associated factors. ⋯ This study highlights the need to support nursing home staff in providing compassionate end-of-life care for people with dementia and suggests that both the physical and emotional burdens in staff should be monitored regularly to achieve optimal working.