Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Older adult perspectives on medical decision making and emergency general surgery: "It had to be done."
Optimal surgical care for older adults with life-threatening conditions, with high risk of poor perioperative outcomes and morality in the months after surgery, should incorporate an understanding of the patient's treatment goals and preferences. However, little research has explored the patient perspective of decision making and advanced care planning during an emergency surgery episode. ⋯ Older patients who survived a life-threatening illness and EGS report receiving goal-concordant care in the moment that relieved symptoms and prolonged life but had not considered future care. Interventions to facilitate postoperative ACP should be targeted to this vulnerable group of older adults.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Association between loneliness and the frequency of using online peer support groups among cancer patients with minor children: a cross-sectional web-based study.
Cancer patients with minor children are increasing; however, they do not receive sufficient support. ⋯ Frequent use of online peer support groups was associated with less loneliness among cancer patients with minor children.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Healthcare Disparities and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Primary Language and Translations of Visitor Policies at NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused unprecedented disruptions to cancer care, including through strict hospital visitation policies. Since a substantial proportion of the U.S. population report a non-English language as their primary language, it is critical that information is disseminated in multiple languages. ⋯ `Most CCC's did not publish non-English language translations of their visitor policies. Even in cities and states with larger Hispanic/Latinx populations, most CCCs did not publish resources in Spanish. This study highlights a key opportunity to mitigate communication barriers and deliver culturally competent, patient-centered care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Workforce Planning for Community-based Palliative Care Specialist Teams using Operations Research.
Many countries have aging populations. Thus, the need for palliative care will increase. However, the methods to estimate optimal staffing for specialist palliative care teams are rudimentary as yet. ⋯ Historical, current, and projected data can be used with operations research to forecast staffing levels for specialist palliative care teams under various scenarios. The forecast can be updated as new data emerge, applied to other populations, and used to test alternative delivery models.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Course of changes in emotional preparedness for death and its associations with caregiving outcomes for family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients over their last year of life.
Preparing family caregivers for a patient's death is an integral component of quality end-of-life care, but temporal changes in emotional preparedness for death and its associations with caregivers' psychological well-being or quality of life (QOL) while providing end-of-life caregiving are under-researched. Our study was conducted to fill this gap. ⋯ Without active, effective clinical interventions to promote caregivers' emotional preparedness for death, they cannot automatically become more prepared for the patient's death over time. Adequate emotional preparedness for the patient's death benefits caregivers by its associations with a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms and better QOL. Supportive programs for caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients should focus on not only enhancing caregiving skills but also cultivating emotional preparedness for their relative's death to promote their psychological well-being and QOL.