Current opinion in supportive and palliative care
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Curr Opin Support Palliat Care · Sep 2012
ReviewEnd-of-life care in rural areas: what is different?
This review explores global developments in palliative care provision in rural settings, since 2010. It highlights models of rural palliative care provision including challenges faced in establishing services and draws upon examples from around the world. ⋯ Although culture and geography will change, challenges to providing palliative care in rural settings appear to be almost universal. Lessons learnt from developing palliative care in rural communities can be shared and applied in different areas. Caution is raised in transplanting urban models to rural settings, thus emphasizing learning from other rural settings to provide accessible and appropriate palliative care.
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Curr Opin Support Palliat Care · Sep 2012
ReviewThe challenge of international consensus: defining an opioid essential prescription package.
To describe a new strategy that aimed to facilitate opioid prescription for better pain management. ⋯ The opioid essential prescription package was an international project designed to ensure that opioids are better tolerated by reducing the adverse effects of opioids, which could lead to more sustained improvements in pain management.
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Curr Opin Support Palliat Care · Jun 2012
ReviewThe placebo in practice: how to use it in clinical routine.
Recent placebo literature provides the scientific basis for the different psychological factors that influence the outcome of a medical treatment. The aim of the present review is to summarize the recent findings of placebo research offering useful tools for everyday medical routine. ⋯ Placebo research provides solid scientific ground for all those psychological aspects that characterize every medical treatment. It also gives us information on the functioning of the human brain, with the possibility to exploit some of these mechanisms in routine medical practice.
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Curr Opin Support Palliat Care · Jun 2012
ReviewThe role of chaplains within oncology interdisciplinary teams.
The role of chaplains/spiritual care professionals and the importance of addressing spiritual needs within interdisciplinary oncology teams are in need of systematic review and critical appraisal. This review focuses on four key areas: basic concepts of spirituality within the healthcare domain; the relevance of spirituality within cancer care; the role of spiritual care within interdisciplinary cancer teams; and the current status of spiritual care professionals in interdisciplinary cancer teams. ⋯ Spiritual care professionals are increasingly recognized as integral members of interdisciplinary oncology teams. However, the full integration of spiritual care professionals within the standard practice of oncology interdisciplinary teams is lacking, as spiritual care services continue to be treated as ancillary services within cancer care organizations.