Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2014
ReviewImplementing patient-reported outcome measures in palliative care clinical practice: a systematic review of facilitators and barriers.
Many patient-reported outcome measures have been developed in the past two decades, playing an increasingly important role in palliative care. However, their routine use in practice has been slow and difficult to implement. ⋯ Successful implementation of patient-reported outcome measures should be tailored by identifying and addressing potential barriers according to setting. Having a coordinator throughout the implementation process seems to be key. Ongoing cognitive and emotional processes of each individual should be taken into consideration during changes. The educational component prior to the implementation is crucial. This could promote ownership and correct use of the measure by clinicians, potentially improving practice and the quality of care provided through patient-reported outcome measure data use in clinical decision-making.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2014
Comparative StudyPriorities for treatment, care and information if faced with serious illness: a comparative population-based survey in seven European countries.
Health-care costs are growing, with little population-based data about people's priorities for end-of-life care, to guide service development and aid discussions. ⋯ Across all countries, extending life was prioritised by a minority, regardless of health status. Treatment and care needs to be reoriented with patient education and palliative care becoming mainstream for serious conditions such as cancer.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2014
Detection of delirium in palliative care unit patients: a prospective descriptive study of the Delirium Observation Screening Scale administered by bedside nurses.
The Delirium Observation Screening Scale (DOS) is designed to detect delirium by nurses' observations and has shown good psychometric properties. Its use in palliative care unit patients has not been studied. ⋯ The Delirium Observation Screening Scale can be used for delirium screening in verbally active palliative care unit patients. The scale was rated as easy to use and relevant. Further validation studies in this population are required.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2014
ReviewShould palliative care patients' hope be truthful, helpful or valuable? An interpretative synthesis of literature describing healthcare professionals' perspectives on hope of palliative care patients.
Healthcare professionals' perspectives on palliative care patients' hope influence communication. However, these perspectives have hardly been examined. ⋯ Healthcare professionals who are able to work with three perspectives on hope may improve their communication with their palliative care patients, which leads to a better quality of care.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialThe Liverpool Care Pathway for cancer patients dying in hospital medical wards: a before-after cluster phase II trial of outcomes reported by family members.
Hospital is the most common place of cancer death but concerns regarding the quality of end-of-life care remain. ⋯ These results provide the first robust data collected from family members of a preliminary clinically significant improvement, in some aspects, of quality of care after the implementation of the Italian version of Liverpool Care Pathway programme. The poor effect for symptom control suggests areas for further innovation and development.