Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialFamily Caregiver Depressive Symptom and Grief Outcomes from the ENABLE III Randomized Controlled Trial.
Little is known about whether early palliative care (EPC) support for family caregivers (CGs) impacts depressive symptoms and grief after care recipients die. ⋯ CGs' depressive symptom and complicated grief scores 8-12 weeks after care recipients' deaths were not statistically different based on the timing of EPC support. The impact of timing of CG EPC interventions on CGs bereavement outcomes requires further investigation.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialFactors Affecting Patients' Preferences for and Actual Discussions About End-of-Life Care.
Discussions about end-of-life care are often difficult for patients and clinicians, and inadequate communication poses a barrier to patients receiving the care they desire. ⋯ The occurrence of, and desire for, patient-clinician communication about end-of-life care is associated with patient factors including communication barriers and facilitators and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Understanding these factors may facilitate design of effective communication interventions.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2016
Cost Analysis and Policy Implications of a Pediatric Palliative Care Program.
In 2010, California launched Partners for Children (PFC), a pediatric palliative care pilot program offering hospice-like services for children eligible for full-scope Medicaid delivered concurrently with curative care, regardless of the child's life expectancy. ⋯ Through the provision of home-based therapeutic services, 24/7 access to medical advice, and enhanced, personally tailored care coordination, PFC demonstrated an effective way to reduce costs for children with life-limiting conditions by moving from costly inpatient care to more coordinated and less expensive outpatient care. PFC's home-based care strategy is a cost-effective model for pediatric palliative care elsewhere.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2016
Ranking of Palliative Care Development in the Countries of the European Union.
There is growing interest in monitoring palliative care (PC) development internationally. One aspect of this is the ranking of such development for comparative purposes. ⋯ The ranking method permitted a comparison of palliative care development between countries and shows changes over time. Recommendations for improving the ranking include improvements to the methodology and greater explanation of the levels and changes it reveals.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2016
Milestones for the Final Mile: Interspecialty Distinctions in Primary Palliative Care Skills Training.
Primary palliative care (PPC) skills are useful in a wide variety of medical and surgical specialties, and the expectations of PPC skill training are unknown across graduate medical education. ⋯ Future revisions of specialty-specific ACGME milestone documents should focus on currently underrepresented, but important PPC skills.