Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2005
Review Meta AnalysisSystematic review of hypnotherapy for treating symptoms in terminally ill adult cancer patients.
The aim of this review was to find the evidence for or against the use of hypnotherapy in the treatment of symptoms in terminally ill adult cancer patients. The title and abstract were evaluated following a search through Index Medicus/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINHAHL, CancerLit, AHMED, Psychinfo, CISCOM, Cochrane and DARE. Search terms included hypnotherapy, cancer, terminal care and palliative care. ⋯ The 27 papers comprised a randomized controlled trial, an observational study, a retrospective questionnaire and 24 case studies. Hypnotherapy was used to treat a variety of symptoms, including pain, anxiety and depression. The poor quality of the studies and heterogeneity of the study population limited further evaluation; further research is required to understand the role of hypnotherapy in managing symptoms.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2005
The Norwegian Doloplus-2, a tool for behavioural pain assessment: translation and pilot-validation in nursing home patients with cognitive impairment.
Pain assessment is challenging in cognitively impaired (CI) patients due to inadequate self-report skills and observational ratings are an alternative. The Doloplus-2 is developed for pain assessment in the CI and rates somatic, psychomotor and psychosocial behaviours as indicators of pain. ⋯ The Norwegian Doloplus-2 demonstrates satisfactory criterion validity and clinical value in this pilot study. However, the content of the instrument needs a general re-evaluation, especially with regard to the psychosocial items.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2005
Older adults' attitudes to death, palliative treatment and hospice care.
Cancer patients who receive care from specialist palliative care services in the UK are younger than those who do not receive this care. This may be explained by age-related differences in attitudes to end-of-life care. ⋯ The relative under-utilization of hospice and specialist palliative care services by older people with cancer in the UK cannot be explained by their attitudes to end-of-life issues and palliative care.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2005
Existential issues do not necessarily result in existential suffering: lessons from cancer patients in Israel.
Existential distress has been recognized as a source of suffering for oncology patients. This study focusses on existential issues and coping mechanisms of a unique culturally diverse Jewish/Middle Eastern oncology population. ⋯ The findings of this study indicate that existential concerns are endemic in this patient population, but that significant distress is relatively uncommon. Early palliative measures, family support, effective coping strategies, and religious belief systems may influence the way patients with advanced cancer deal with existential concerns.