Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2024
'A good ending but not the end': Exploring family preparations surrounding a relative's death and the Afterlife - A qualitative study.
Adequate death preparation positively influences families' experience before death and during bereavement. However, how to prepare families in non-Western cultures has received scant attention. ⋯ Funeral arrangements, enhancing the deceased's afterlife and maintaining connections to the deceased are crucial for families' experiences which can be impacted by actions they take as they prepare for the death. A culturally appropriate death is beneficial for the dying relative which includes preparing to not show strong emotions during and after the death. These insights inform the importance of the cultural context in death preparation in Taiwan and provide perspectives for palliative care beyond Western culture, potentially benefiting Chinese populations, predominantly East Asian and Buddhist societies.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2024
Exploring the contextual assumptions, interventions and outcomes of digital advance care planning systems: A theory of change approach to understand implementation and evaluation.
Digital advance care planning systems are used internationally to document and share patients' wishes and preferences to inform care delivery. However, their use is impeded by a limited understanding of factors influencing implementation and evaluation. ⋯ Digital advance care planning lacks shared beliefs and practices, despite these being essential for complex technology implementation. Our mid-range programme theory can guide their further development and application by considering technological, infrastructure and human factor influences to optimise their implementation.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2024
Identification of core indicators for the integration of a palliative care approach in hospitals: An international Delphi study.
Healthcare providers working in hospitals have significant exposure to patients with palliative care needs. For many patients, these needs often reflect non-specialist rather than specialist palliative care needs. Embedding a palliative care approach in acute hospital-based care however is challenging. ⋯ This study offers multi-level guidance for clinical practice, policy and research related to integration of a palliative care approach in hospitals, based on evidence and international consensus from major stakeholder groups. These core indicators provide a means to assess, review and communicate the core elements of a palliative care approach in hospitals.