Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2019
Identifying Optimal Factor Scores on the Bereaved Family Survey: Implications for Practice and Policy.
The Bereaved Family Survey (BFS) is used to evaluate the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care in Veterans Affairs inpatient settings. The BFS consists of a global Performance Measure (BFS-PM) and three factors that relate to specific aspects of EOL care. ⋯ The identification of data-driven targets makes BFS factor scores more useful to clinicians and administrators focused on improving quality of EOL care in their facilities. Our results lend support for prioritizing quality improvement efforts related to respectful care and communication.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2019
Preloss Psychosocial Resources Predict Depressive-Symptom Trajectories among Terminally Ill Cancer Patients' Caregivers in their First Two Years of Bereavement.
Postloss depressive symptom trajectories are heterogeneous and predicted by preloss psychosocial resources, but this evidence was from one old study on caregivers of patients with terminal cancer for whom these issues are highly relevant. ⋯ Most (84.1%) caregivers' depressive symptoms subsided within one year after loss. Preloss psychosocial resources predicted depressive symptom trajectories for bereaved caregivers. Health care professionals can help caregivers adjust their bereavement by providing support to enhance their sense of coherence and encouraging social contacts while they are providing end-of-life care.
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