Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2018
ReviewComplementary and Alternative Medicine in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Systematic Review.
The aim of palliative care is to improve quality of life for patients with serious illnesses by treating their symptoms and adverse effects. Hospice care also aims for this for patients with a life expectancy of six months or less. When conventional therapies do not provide adequate symptom management or produce their own adverse effects, patients, families, and caregivers may prefer complementary or alternative approaches in their care. ⋯ CAM may provide a limited short-term benefit in patients with symptom burden. Additional studies are needed to clarify the potential value of CAM in the hospice or palliative setting.
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Thought leaders in palliative care have long recognized the spiritual implications of illness, including Dame Cicely Saunders' groundbreaking concept of suffering as comprising physical, emotional, social, and spiritual sources of pain. However, despite such recognition, spirituality remains an oft-neglected component of the biopsychosocial spiritual model of caregiving in serious illness. We aim in this article to highlight, through an in-depth account of patients' experiences and attitudes, the concept of illness as a spiritual event.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2018
Translation and Evaluation of a Lung Cancer, Palliative Care Intervention for Community Practice.
A notable gap in the evidence base for palliative care (PC) for cancer is that most trials were conducted in specialized centers with limited translation and further evaluation in "real-world" settings. Health systems are desperate for guidance on effective, scalable models. ⋯ Our findings suggest that a research-based PC intervention can be successfully adapted to community settings to achieve similar, if not better, QOL outcomes for patients and FCGs compared to UC. Nonetheless, additional modifications to ensure consistent referrals to PC and streamlining routine assessments and patient/FCG education are needed to sustain and disseminate the PC intervention.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyAn Automated Intervention Did Not Improve Adherence to Oral Oncolytic Agents While Managing Symptoms: Results From a Two-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.
An increasing number of oral cancer treatments require patient adherence and symptom self-management. ⋯ Adherence may be less of a problem than originally anticipated, and intervention was not efficacious possibly because of already high rates of patient adherence to oral oncolytic medication during first 12 weeks. Longer follow-up in future research may identify subgroups of patients who need interventions to sustain adherence.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2018
ReviewDevelopment of a Standard for Hospital-Based Palliative Care Consultation Teams in Japan Using a Modified Delphi Method.
Hospital-based palliative care consultation teams (PCCTs) are rapidly being disseminated throughout Japan. The roles of PCCTs have changed during the past decade, particularly with the introduction of a modified national cancer care act to promote early palliative care and integrated oncology and palliative care. ⋯ We developed a standard for PCCTs in Japanese cancer hospitals. This standard provides a useful guide for clinical activities and a tool to evaluate quality of palliative care.