Palliative medicine
-
Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
Spiritual needs and communicating about death in nonreligious theistic families in pediatric palliative care: A qualitative study.
Spiritual support should be offered to all patients and their families regardless of their affiliated status with an organized religion. ⋯ Religious support could be an element of spiritual support for nonreligious theistic parents of terminally ill children. Multiple strategies including religious supports and nonreligious supports should be rationally integrated into spiritual support of nonreligious theistic family. Patient's personal belief in death should be assessed before discussing death with them.
-
Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
Components of palliative care interventions addressing the needs of people with dementia living in long-term care: A systematic review.
People with dementia requiring palliative care have multiple needs, which are amplified in long-term care settings. The European Association for Palliative Care White Paper offers recommendations for optimal palliative care in dementia integral for this population, providing useful guidance to inform interventions addressing their specific needs. ⋯ Almost all domains were addressed across all interventions currently offered for this population to various degrees, but not within a singular intervention. Future research optimally needs to be theory driven when developing dementia-specific interventions at the end of life, with the European Association for Palliative Care domains serving as a foundation to inform the best care for this population.
-
Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
Do journals contribute to the international publication of research in their field? A bibliometric analysis of palliative care journal data.
Research is important internationally, impacting on health service provision and patient benefit. Journals play an important dissemination role, but there may be geographical bias, potentially affecting access to evidence. ⋯ Publishers, editors and authors are concentrated in North America or Europe. North American authors are more present in North American journals and European authors in European journals. This polarised approach, if replicated across readerships, may lead to research waste, duplication, and be sub-optimal for healthcare development.
-
Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
ReviewPractice review: Evidence-based and effective management of pain in patients with advanced cancer.
Pain of a moderate or severe intensity affects over half of patients with advanced cancer and remains undertreated in at least one-third of these patients. ⋯ Interventions commonly recommended by guidelines are not always supported by a robust evidence base. Research is required to evaluate the efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-convulsants, anti-depressants, corticosteroids, some invasive anaesthetic techniques, complementary therapies and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.
-
Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
Nurses' knowledge of law at the end of life and implications for practice: A qualitative study.
Some patients do not receive adequate pain and symptom relief at the end of life, causing distress to patients, families and healthcare professionals. It is unclear whether undertreatment of symptoms occurs, in part, because of nurses' concerns about legal and/or disciplinary repercussions if the patient dies after medication is administered. ⋯ Education is urgently required to strengthen nurses' knowledge of the legal protections supporting the provision of appropriate palliative medication, thereby improving their clinical practice with end-of-life patients.