Journal of pain and symptom management
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2023
Trends in Obesity Prevalence among US Older Adults in the Last Two Years of Life, 1998-2018.
The prevalence of obesity has grown in the US over the decades. The temporal trends of body mass index categories in the last two years of life are poorly understood. ⋯ Severe obesity has increased greatly while underweight has decreased. As obesity increases in the final years of life, it is critical to assess how the existing and future palliative services and end of life care system address body size and weight.
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2023
Patient-reported Quality Measures for Palliative Care: The time is now.
While progress has been made in the ability to measure the quality of hospice and specialty palliative care, there are notable gaps. A recent analysis conducted by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed a paucity of patient-reported measures, particularly in palliative care domains such as symptom management and communication. ⋯ These measures highlight the key role of patient voices in palliative care and fill a much-needed gap for patient-reported experience measures in our field.
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2023
Multicenter StudyVaccine preventable diseases in pediatric palliative care - a multicenter cross-sectional study.
Vaccine preventable diseases lead to distressful symptoms and complications among pediatric patients receiving specialized home palliative care. There was no data on the vaccination compliance. ⋯ Children and adolescents with life-limiting conditions are at increased risk of vaccine preventable diseases. Individual vaccination counselling is recommended.
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2023
Should Outpatient Palliative Care Clinics in Cancer Centers be Stand Alone or Embedded?
Outpatient palliative care facilitates timely symptom management, psychosocial care and care planning. A growing number of cancer centers have either stand-alone or embedded outpatient palliative care clinics. In this "Controversies in Palliative Care" article, three groups of thought leaders independently answer this question. ⋯ In the absence of evidence that directly compares the two models, factors such as cancer center size, palliative care team composition, clinic space availability, and financial considerations may drive the decision-making process at each institution. Stand-alone clinics may be more appropriate for larger academic cancer centers or palliative care programs with a more comprehensive interdisciplinary team, while embedded clinics may be more suited for smaller palliative care programs or community oncology programs to stimulate referrals. As outpatient clinic models continue to evolve, investigators need to document the referral and patient outcomes to inform practice.