Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2022
Development of Entrustable Professional Activities for Specialist Hospice and Palliative Care Pharmacists.
Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) translate competencies into explicit, practical terms that clearly state the expected roles and responsibilities of clinicians who have achieved proficiency and expertise in a field. EPAs are defined for Hospice and Palliative Medicine physicians but not for other members of Hospice and Palliative Care (HAPC) interprofessional teams, including pharmacists. ⋯ Fifteen consensus EPAs describe essential activities of HAPC pharmacists in direct patient care, leadership, education, and scholarship. These EPAs will further guide pharmacist training programs, HAPC services seeking to incorporate a specialized pharmacist on the team, and currently practicing HAPC pharmacists.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2022
Advancing Global Palliative Care over Two Decades: Health System Integration, Access to Essential Medicines, and Pediatrics.
Between 2000 and 2020 Open Society Foundations was one of very few funders that supported global palliative care development and advocacy. ⋯ Despite this progress, significant challenges remain as funding for palliative care advocacy is limited, the overdose crisis in the US has recently had a chilling effect on efforts to improve availability of opioid analgesics, and economic crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic create uncertainty over the future of universal health coverage.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2022
Tailoring Pain Interference Measurement in People with Cancer: A Feasibility Study.
Most patient-reported outcomes (PRO) are not directly tailored to an individual patient's values, partially because tailored PROs require clinical interviews or are difficult to use in statistical analyses. ⋯ The Precision PRO approach was feasible, more preferred by patients, and showed consistency over a short timeframe. This approach could be used to make PRO assessment in clinical care and clinical trials more patient-centered. Additional research is needed to determine the generalizability of this approach to other outcomes and populations.
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Children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and their families are potentially vulnerable during COVID-19 lockdowns due to pre-existing high clinical support needs and social participation limitations. ⋯ Continued delivery of child- and family-centered palliative care requires innovative assessment and delivery of psycho-social support. Disruptions within treatment and care providers may compound support needs, requiring cordination for families facing multiagency delays.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2022
Observational StudyQuality of end-of-life in cancer patients with dementia: using a nationwide inpatient database.
The growing number of older people significantly affects end-of-life care. However, few studies have assessed the quality of end-of-life care among cancer patients with dementia. ⋯ Patients with dementia are less likely to receive end-of-life care. This study demonstrates the importance of providing high-quality end-of-life care regardless the cognitive status of patients with cancer.