Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyMeaning in life experience at the end of life: validation of the Hindi version of the Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation and a cross-cultural comparison between Indian and German palliative care patients.
The experience of Meaning in Life (MiL) is a major protective factor against feelings of hopelessness and wishes for hastened death in palliative care (PC) patients. However, most instruments for MiL assessment have been developed only in Western countries so far. Little is known about MiL experience in Asian PC patients. ⋯ Preliminary results indicate good feasibility and validity of the Hindi version of the SMiLE. MiL experience also seems to be a coping resource for Indian PC patients.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialEMPOWER: an intervention to address barriers to pain management in hospice.
Concerns about pain medications are major barriers to pain management in hospice, but few studies have focused on systematic methods to address these concerns. ⋯ EMPOWER is a promising model to reduce barriers to pain management in hospice.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2015
Multicenter StudyLong-term psychosocial outcomes among bereaved siblings of children with cancer.
The death of a child from cancer affects the entire family. Little is known about the long-term psychosocial outcomes of bereaved siblings. ⋯ How siblings experience the death of a child with cancer may impact their long-term psychosocial well-being. Sibling-directed communication and concurrent supportive care during the cancer experience and the year after the sibling death may mitigate poor long-term outcomes.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyDescriptions by general practitioners and nurses of their collaboration in continuous sedation until death at home: in-depth qualitative interviews in three European countries.
One palliative care approach that is increasingly being used at home for relieving intolerable suffering in terminally ill patients is continuous sedation until death. Its provision requires a multidisciplinary team approach, with adequate collaboration and communication. However, it is unknown how general practitioners (GPs) and home care nurses experience being involved in the use of sedation at home. ⋯ We found variety among the countries studied regarding the decision making and provision of continuous sedation until death at home. These differences, among others, may be the result of different organizational contexts in the three countries such as the use of anticipatory medication in the U.K.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2015
Initial validation of the Death and Dying Distress Scale for the assessment of death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer.
The experience of death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer has been understudied partly because of the lack of a tailored measure for this population. The Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS) was constructed to address this gap. Although an initial version of this instrument has shown promising psychometric properties, validation of the finalized version is needed. ⋯ The DADDS is a valid measure of death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer. It may provide useful information in the assessment and treatment of distress in patients near the end of life.