Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2020
"The impact of socio-cultural influences on the COVID-19 measures - reflections from Singapore."
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents unique challenges to Asian countries like Singapore with a predominantly Confucian culture. Palliative care providers play an important role in supporting their patients and family members in these difficult times.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2020
Caring for bereaved family members during the COVID-19 pandemic: before and after the death of a patient.
Bereavement care is considered an integral component of quality end-of-life care endorsed by the palliative care movement. However, few hospitals and health care institutions offer universal bereavement care to all families of patients who die. The current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has highlighted this gap and created a sense of urgency, from a public health perspective, for institutions to provide support to bereaved family members. In this article, drawing on the palliative care and bereavement literature, we offer suggestions about how to incorporate palliative care tools and psychological strategies into bereavement care for families during this pandemic.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2020
Comparing symptom ratings by staff and family carers in residents dying in long-term care facilities in three European countries, results from a PACE-survey.
Symptom management is essential in the end-of-life care of long-term care facility residents. ⋯ There is a need for improved communication between staff and family and discussion about symptom burden in the dying phase in long-term care facilities.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2020
COVID-19 Lessons: The Alignment of Palliative Medicine and Trauma-Informed Care.
As the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, its psychological, emotional, and existential toll continues to grow and indeed may now rival the physical suffering caused by the illness. Patients, caregivers, and health-care workers are particularly at risk for trauma responses and would be well served by trauma-informed care practices to minimize both immediate and long-term psychological distress. Given the significant overlap between the core tenets of trauma-informed care and accepted guidelines for the provision of quality palliative care (PC), PC teams are particularly well poised to both incorporate such practices into routine care and to argue for their integration across health systems. We outline this intersection to highlight the uniquely powerful role PC teams can play to reduce the long-term psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2020
Low Socioeconomic Status Associated with Lower Utilization of Hospice Care Services during End-of-life Treatment in Cancer Patients: A Population-based Cohort Study.
Socioeconomic status (SES) is an important determinant of disparities in health services and may affect the utilization of hospice care services during end-of-life (EOL) treatment in patients with cancer. However, previous studies evaluating the association between SES and utilization of hospice care services among patients with cancer revealed inconsistent findings. ⋯ Low SES was associated with lower utilization of hospice care services during EOL care in patients with cancer. Our data support the need to target low SES patients with cancer in efforts to optimally increase hospice care services during EOL care.