Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2018
Shared decision-making at the end of life: A focus group study exploring the perceptions and experiences of multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals working in the home setting.
Globally recommended in healthcare policy, Shared Decision-Making is also central to international policy promoting community palliative care. Yet realities of implementation by multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals who provide end-of-life care in the home are unclear. ⋯ Multiple interacting factors influence implementation of Shared Decision-Making by professionals working in complex community settings at the end of life. Moving from rhetoric to reality requires future work exploring the realities of Shared Decision-Making practice at individual, process and systems levels.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2018
Prevalence, incidence and associated factors of pressure ulcers in home palliative care patients: A retrospective chart review.
Terminally ill patients are at high risk of pressure ulcers, which have a negative impact on quality of life. Data about pressure ulcers' prevalence, incidence and associated factors are largely insufficient. ⋯ The notable pressure ulcers' incidence and prevalence rates suggest the need to include this issue among the main outcomes to pursue during home palliative care. The accuracy of body mass index, Braden Scale and Karnofsky Performance Scale in predicting the pressure ulcers risk is confirmed. Therefore, they appear as essential tools, in combination with nurses' clinical judgment, for a structured approach to pressure ulcers prevention. Further research is needed to explore the home caregivers' characteristics and attitudes associated with the occurrence of pressure ulcers and the relations between their strategies for pressure ulcer prevention and gender-related patient's needs.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2018
Communication about palliative care: A phenomenological study exploring patient views and responses to its discussion.
Communication about palliative care is a complex task frequently delayed until otherwise unavoidable. There is a need for discussion of palliative care to be viewed as a distinct communication task that is guided by empirical data. However, little is known of patient views and responses to these encounters. ⋯ This study provides important new patient insights and responses to the discussion of palliative care. Results demonstrate that the task of discussing palliative care remains complex, difficult and limited by our language. Greater consistency, sensitivity and sophistication are required when talking about palliative care to patients who may benefit from this care.