Journal of pain and symptom management
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When caring for a grieving patient, professional chaplains may assess the patient's spiritual suffering, address questions of meaning and purpose, and identify sources of comfort, love, and strength. In the setting of a pandemic, with heightened precautions and limited visitation by loved ones, all members of the clinical team are called to utilize compassionate listening and communication skills to address the pervasive isolation and grief of those in their care. This article uses a chaplain's personal narrative to explore the challenges of facilitating grief support with a newly bereaved patient who cannot speak. It presents the Biblical concept of kol d'mama daka, the "still small voice," as an image of the power of silence and revelation that comes when clinicians employ deep listening and compassion.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2021
Decreasing Trends in Opioid Prescribing on Discharge to Hospice Care.
There are concerns that policies aimed to prevent opioid misuse may unintentionally reduce access to opioids for patients at end-of-life. ⋯ We observed a statistically significant decreasing trend in opioid prescribing on discharge to hospice care. Further research should aim to confirm these findings and to identify opportunities to ensure optimal pain management among patients transitioning to hospice care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2021
ReviewDecision Making of Artificial Nutrition and Hydration for cancer patients at terminal stage- A systematic review of the views from patients, families and healthcare professionals.
Decision making on nutrition and hydration for cancer patients during terminal stage cause critical impacts toward patient's comfort and living quality. The management of nutrition is the main dilemma that arises in these final situations and has been the subject of intense debate over the last few decades. ⋯ The decision of nutritional support was dynamic; the interaction between patients and families frequently be hesitated to protect the rights of life, unnecessarily prolonging lifetime. Therefore, a better understanding of the views on nutritional support and processing the clinical guideline of decision making for healthcare professional is necessary.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2021
Multicenter StudyDevelopment of a One-item Screening Question to Assess Spiritual Well-Being for Advanced Cancer Inpatients in Korea.
Spiritual well-being (SWB) is significant for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Thus, shortened versions of questions would be helpful in approaching SWB. ⋯ Self-rated spirituality and religiosity showed better convergence validity than feeling at peace. Therefore, we recommend self-rated spirituality or religiosity as a one-item question for screening SWB in inpatients with advanced cancer.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2021
Will to Live in Older Nursing Home Residents: A Cross-Sectional Study in Switzerland.
The will to live (WTL) is an important indicator of subjective well-being. It may enable a deeper understanding of the well-being of nursing home residents. ⋯ Nursing home residents expressed a very strong WTL and proxy aents underestimated residents' WTL. It seems pivotal to proactively communicate with residents about their WTL.