Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialWhat works for therapists conducting family meetings: treatment integrity in family-focused grief therapy during palliative care and bereavement.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment integrity of Family-Focused Grief Therapy (FFGT), a preventive intervention designed for families at high risk of poor functioning during palliative care and bereavement. From the 81 families participating in a randomized controlled trial (53 assigned to therapy), 28 were randomly selected for this study of treatment fidelity using the FFGT integrity measure. A total of 109 family sessions were appraised. ⋯ Therapists averaged 10 grief-related questions per session, 7 on communication-related issues during assessment, 7 on conflict late in therapy, and 4 on cohesiveness across the course of therapy. Consistent application of FFGT, with attention to its four key themes of family communication, cohesiveness, conflict resolution, and shared grief has been demonstrated. The model is generalizable when applied by family therapists.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2004
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialImpact of a half-day multidisciplinary symptom control and palliative care outpatient clinic in a comprehensive cancer center on recommendations, symptom intensity, and patient satisfaction: a retrospective descriptive study.
To characterize a new, one-stop multidisciplinary palliative care (MD) clinic which offers standardized multidisciplinary assessment, specific care recommendations, patient and family education, and on-site counseling, we retrospectively compared the assessments of 138 consecutive patients with advanced cancer referred to the MD clinic and 77 patients referred to a traditional pain and symptom management (PSM) clinic. The two groups were similar in tumor type, demographics, and symptom distress. The MD clinic team (physicians; nurses; pharmacists; physical, speech, and occupational therapists; social workers; chaplains; nutritionists; psychiatric nurse practitioner) delivered 1,066 non-physician recommendations (median 4 per patient, range 0-37). ⋯ In 80 (58%) MD-clinic patients with follow-up 9 days (median) after assessment, significant improvement was observed in pain, nausea, depression, anxiety, sleep, dyspnea, and well-being, but not in fatigue, anorexia, or drowsiness. In 83 patients interviewed after the MD clinic, satisfaction was rated as excellent (5 out of 5) in 86-97% of seven areas. Assessment at an MD clinic results in a high number of patient care recommendations, improved symptoms, and high levels of patient satisfaction.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2004
Review GuidelinePolyanalgesic Consensus Conference 2003: an update on the management of pain by intraspinal drug delivery-- report of an expert panel.
Intraspinal drug infusion using fully implantable pump and catheter systems is a safe and effective therapy for selected patients with chronic pain. The options for this approach are increasing, as drugs that are commercially available for systemic administration are adapted to this use and other drugs that are in development specifically for intraspinal administration become available. In 2000 a Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference was organized to evaluate the existing literature and develop guidelines for drug selection. ⋯ Rapid changes have occurred in the science and practice of intraspinal infusion and a Polyanalgesic Consensus Conference 2003 was organized to pursue the following goals: 1) to review the literature on intraspinal drug infusion since 1999, 2) to revise the 2000 drug-selection algorithm, 3) to develop guidelines for optimizing drug dosage and concentration, 4) to create a process for documenting minimum evidence supporting the use of a drug for intraspinal infusion, and 5) to clarify issues pertaining to compounding of drugs. Based on the best available evidence and expert opinion, consensus recommendations were developed in all these areas. The panel's conclusions may provide a foundation for clinical practice and a rational basis for new research.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2004
Comparative StudyMeasuring the quality of structure and process in end-of-life care from the bereaved family perspective.
Measurement of the structure/process of care is the first step in improving end-of-life care. The primary aim of this study was to psychometrically validate an instrument for directly measuring the bereaved family's perception of the necessity for improvement in structural/procedural aspects of palliative care. Different sets of questionnaires were sent to 800 and 425 families who lost family members at one of 70 certified palliative care units in Japan in the development and validation phases, respectively, and 281 families of the latter group in the follow-up phase. ⋯ The CES score was not significantly associated with the degree of expectation, the changes of depression, or the Social Desirability Scale. The CES is a useful tool to measure the bereaved family's perception of the necessity for improvement in structural/procedural aspects of palliative care. The advantages of the CES are: 1) it specifically evaluates the structure and process of care, 2) it directly identifies needed improvements, 3) it is not affected by the degree of expectation, depression, or social desirability, and 4) it has satisfactory psychometric properties.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2004
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialConsideration of hastening death among hospice patients and their families.
The purpose of this study was to describe hospice social workers' perceptions of cases where hospice patients or their family members expressed a desire to hasten the patient's death. Surveys were mailed to hospice social workers (n=212) in two Southeastern states. Response rate was 36%. ⋯ Poor quality of life (28.3%) and concern for suffering (28.3%) were the most common reasons reported for the request to hasten death. These data suggest that the desire for hastened death is not uncommon among hospice patients. Social workers perceive these requests to be related primarily to unmet needs.