Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2012
Barriers and facilitators to the receipt of palliative care for people with dementia: the views of medical and nursing staff.
The global prevalence of dementia is set to rise to almost 65 million people by 2030, providing policy makers and practitioners with significant challenges, not least within the realms of end-of-life care. The international literature would suggest that people with dementia may benefit from palliative forms of care, but evidence indicates that many fail to access such provision at the end of life. The role of the health care team is pivotal if people with dementia are to benefit from the transition to palliative care. ⋯ Four themes were identified: Making the transition; Competence challenged; 'The long view' and Working together. Whilst there exists good practice in this area, the barriers to timely and appropriate transitions to palliative care for people with dementia and their families continue to exist. The paper concludes with recommendations for policy and practice development.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2012
A cohort study of children and young people with progressive neuromuscular disorders: clinical and demographic profiles and changing patterns of referral for palliative care.
Progressive neuromuscular disease in children is life limiting and these children and young people would benefit from palliative care services, but data are limited on the number and demography of these children. ⋯ The profile of children with progressive neuromuscular conditions who were referred for palliative care has changed over the last 20 years, with a different spectrum of underlying diagnoses and a greater number from a South Asian background. The higher than expected proportion of children living in areas of high deprivation has been consistent over time.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2012
Can assessing caregiver needs and activating community networks improve caregiver-defined outcomes? A single-blind, quasi-experimental pilot study: community facilitator pilot.
Although the unit of care in palliative care is defined as the patient and their family, there are few rigorous studies on how to improve support for family and friends as they take on the role of caregiver for someone at the end of life. ⋯ There were objective measures of improved support within the intervention group over time for caregivers through the active engagement of the community network facilitator. This pilot supports the case for an adequately powered study.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2012
Issues and needs in end-of-life decision making: an international modified Delphi study.
end-of-life decision making is an important aspect of end-of-life care that can have a significant impact on the process of dying and patients' comfort in the last days of life. ⋯ palliative care experts from different professions in different countries encounter similar issues in end-of-life decision making. Adequate communication about these issues is universally experienced as a challenge, which might benefit from increased knowledge. This shared experience enables and emphasizes the need for more international research.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2012
Obstacles to corneal donation amongst hospice inpatients: a questionnaire survey of multi-disciplinary team member's attitudes, knowledge, practice and experience.
Corneal donation is a sight restoring procedure. Internationally demand exceeds supply. It is a tissue that palliative care patients may be able to donate, yet donation rates from this group are low. ⋯ Despite positive staff attitudes towards corneal donation, many barriers to discussing donation were identified, which may reduce donation rates. This could be improved by local policies encompassing further education, prompts in documentation and availability of leaflets.