Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2021
'Compassion outside of the box'. The role of allied healthcare professionals in providing a Companion service for patients at the end of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS England prohibited people visiting acute hospital trusts. An end-of-life companion scheme was introduced to support the delivery of care for seriously unwell and dying patients during this time. ⋯ This study highlights an interesting approach to changing job roles for health-care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as recognizing the importance of allied health professionals in the multidisciplinary approach to palliative and end-of-life care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2021
Comparing the Palliative Care Needs of Patients Seen by Specialty Palliative Care Teams at Home Versus in Clinic.
Understanding the unique needs of patients seen in clinic versus at home can help palliative care (PC) teams choose how to maximize available resources. ⋯ Patients seen by PC teams at home had worse function and were more likely to be referred for care planning, while patients seen in clinic had more PC needs related to pain and symptom management. Despite these differences, both populations have significant PC needs that support routine assessment and require appropriately staffed interdisciplinary teams to address these needs.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2021
Healthcare Providers' Attitudes and Beliefs on Providing Palliative Care to Patients in Bahrain: Findings From a Qualitative Study.
Present studies suggested that cultural and religious factors, as well as law and policy, may have impeded the advancement of palliative care in the Middle East. Little is known about health care providers' perceptions of palliative care and the barriers to its development in the Gulf Cooperation Council. ⋯ This study unveiled the perceptions of palliative care among health care professionals in a Gulf Cooperation Council country. Six major barriers that hindered palliative care practice were identified. Future health care policy in the region needs to address these barriers within the current health care system while taking culture, religion, and social factors into consideration.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2021
Emerging palliative care innovations in the ED: a qualitative analysis of programmatic elements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health systems have aspired to integrate palliative care (PC) into the emergency department (ED) to improve care quality for over a decade, yet there are very few examples of implemented models in the literature. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to an increase in the volume of seriously ill patients in EDs and a consequent rapid increase in PC integration in many EDs. ⋯ Several new innovations in PC-ED care delivery emerged during COVID. Many innovations leveraged different types of clinicians to deliver care, an increased physical presence of PC in the ED, and used technology to enhance care delivery. These innovations may serve as a framework for institutions as they plan for evolving needs in the ED during and after COVID. Additional research is needed to evaluate the impact of these programs and understand their applicability beyond the pandemic.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2021
Hospitalisations at the end-of-life among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer patients: a nationwide study.
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer report several symptoms at the end of life and may share palliative care needs. However, these disease groups have distinct health care use. ⋯ At the end of life, patients with lung cancer had longer hospitalizations than patients with COPD, and the main characteristics associated with the frequency and length of hospitalizations differed according to the patients' main diagnosis.