Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2022
'It's not just all about the fancy words and the adults': Recommendations for practice from a qualitative interview study with children and young people with a parent with a life-limiting illness.
Healthcare professionals report challenges in supporting dying patients who have dependent children. These parents are often uncertain how to meet the needs of their children and require appropriate support from professionals. There is limited evidence based guidance for professionals around this issue, which is informed by the views and experiences of children themselves. ⋯ Five recommendations for healthcare professionals were developed from the findings. Clinicians should encourage dying parents to: (1) acknowledge the agency of children; (2) recognise children's caregiving roles; (3) engender children's trust in healthcare; (4) maintain some normality; and (5) discuss emotions with their children. Implementing these recommendations will assist parents with a life-limiting illness to provide evidence-based support to their dependent children.
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2022
Development of a national strategy with recommendations for the care of seriously ill and dying people and their relatives in pandemics: A modified Delphi study.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a constant challenge for health care systems, also in Germany. Care of seriously ill and dying people and their relatives is often neglected and suffering increased due to sub-optimal symptom management, visiting restrictions and lonely dying. The project "Palliative Care in Pandemics (PallPan)" intended to develop a national strategy including evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for the care of seriously ill and dying people and their relatives during pandemic times in Germany. ⋯ We provide evidence and consensus-based recommendations for the care of seriously ill and dying people and their relatives in pandemics in Germany. This is an important step towards a pandemic preparedness and hopefully improves the future palliative care response to pandemics.
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2022
ReviewMeasuring quality of dying, death and end-of-life care for children and young people: A scoping review of available tools.
The circumstances and care provided at the end of a child's life have a profound impact on family members. Although assessing experiences and outcomes during this time is challenging, healthcare professionals have a responsibility to ensure high quality of care is provided. ⋯ Future research should include ways to adapt, refine and improve existing tools. Assessing their wider application in different clinical and cultural settings and conducting further psychometric assessment represent areas of focus.
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2022
Bereavement outcomes in family members of those who died in acute care hospitals before and during the first wave of COVID-19: A cohort study.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths worldwide, leading to symptoms of grief among the bereaved. Neither the burden of severe grief nor its predictors are fully known within the context of the pandemic. ⋯ Severe grief is common among family members bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of the cause or circumstances of death, and even if their loss took place before the onset of the pandemic. This suggests that aspects of the pandemic itself contribute to severe grief, and factors that normally mitigate grief may not be as effective.