Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2022
One Hospital's Response to the Institute of Medicine Report, "Dying in America".
In response to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Dying in America, we undertook an institution wide effort to improve the experience of patients and families facing serious illness by engaging leadership and developing a program to promote the practice of generalist palliative care. ⋯ A broad based strategy resulted wide institutional engagement with serious illness care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2022
Development, Implementation, and Outcomes of a Serious Illness Care Community of Practice.
Communities of Practice (CoP) can help geographically separated individuals who share a joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and a repertoire of tools to gain, maintain, and implement new skills, including serious illness communication. ⋯ This article describes the implementation and health system outcomes of a Community of Practice developed to support serious illness communication. The results indicate that the membership of the community grew and that the community supported growth in the number of trained clinicians and the number of serious illness conversations conducted.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2022
Hand-held fans: Physical properties and perceptions of patients with COPD.
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may remain breathless despite optimal medical treatment. Hand-held fans (HHFs) are recommended to relieve breathlessness, but little is known about physical properties of different fans and the impact HHF properties may have on patient perceptions of fans. ⋯ The physical properties of the five included HHFs are quite distinct. Patient preference was related to pleasantness of airflow, perceived airflow, and measured airflow at 30cm. Gender differences in perceived airflow were noted. Future research should explore the relationship between HHF characteristics and relief of breathlessness.