Journal of pain and symptom management
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Palliative care clinicians (PCCs) are vulnerable to burnout as a result of chronic stress related to working with seriously ill patients. Burnout can lead to absenteeism, ineffective communication, medical errors, and job turnover. Interventions that promote better coping with stress are needed in this population. ⋯ Our findings suggest that a novel team-based resiliency intervention based on elicitation of the relaxation response was feasible and may help promote resiliency and protect against the negative consequences of stress for PCCs.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2016
Multicenter StudySpanish Validation of the Care Evaluation Scale for Measuring the Quality of Structure and Process of Palliative Care from the Family Perspective.
A reliable and valid measure of the structure and process of end-of-life care is important for improving the outcomes of care. ⋯ The Spanish CES was found to be a reliable and valid measure of the satisfaction with end-of-life care structure and process from family members' perspectives.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2016
Dimensionality, Stability and Validity of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in Cancer Patients Receiving Curative and Palliative Treatment.
Hopelessness is a clinically important construct in patients with advanced illness. ⋯ Our study demonstrates psychometric limitations of the BHS in patients receiving both curative and palliative treatment, suggesting reduced utility in cancer populations. Given the clinical importance of the construct, a cancer-specific approach to capture the unique meaning of hopelessness in patients with severe medical illness is recommended.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2016
Observational StudyPatient-Controlled Therapy (PCT) of Breathlessness in Palliative Care: A New Therapeutic Concept for Opioid Application?
Breathlessness is one of the most distressing symptoms experienced by patients with advanced cancer and noncancer diagnoses alike. Often, severity of breathlessness increases quickly, calling for rapid symptom control. Oral, buccal, and parenteral routes of provider-controlled drug administration have been described. It is unclear whether patient-controlled therapy (PCT) systems would be an additional treatment option. ⋯ Opioid PCT is a feasible and acceptable therapeutic method to reduce refractory breathlessness in palliative care patients.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2016
ReviewInterpreting at the End of Life: A Systematic Review of the Impact of Interpreters on the Delivery of Palliative Care Services to Cancer Patients with Limited English Proficiency.
Language barriers can influence the health quality and outcomes of limited English proficiency (LEP) patients at end of life, including symptom assessment and utilization of hospice services. ⋯ LEP patients had worse quality of end-of-life care and goals of care discussions when professional interpreters were not used. More intervention studies are needed to improve the quality of care provided to LEP patients and families receiving palliative services.