Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2005
The last three months of life of Italian cancer patients. Methods, sample characteristics and response rate of the Italian Survey of the Dying of Cancer (ISDOC).
The Italian Survey of the Dying of Cancer (ISDOC) was undertaken to evaluate the experiences of Italian people dying from cancer during their last three months of life in all settings of care. ⋯ The ISDOC survey provides a representative picture of the needs and problems associated with the last three months of life of Italian cancer patients.
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Incident pain related to bone metastases is a problematic symptom to treat. The difficulty in treating this type of pain is reflected in the wide variety of treatment modalities recommended. The aims of this prospective observational study were to determine the patterns of pain severity at rest and on movement over time and which treatment modalities are employed. ⋯ This is the first study that highlights the correlation between pain at rest and pain on movement in patients with bone metastases in a palliative care population. It highlights the need for intensive follow-up of these patients, as they require multiple interventions to help control their pain. These data can also be used to power further interventional studies.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2005
Utilization and costs of the introduction of system-wide palliative care in Alberta, 1993-2000.
De-institutionalization of health care services provided to terminally ill cancer patients is a cost-effective strategy that underpins health care reforms in Canada. The objective of this study therefore is to evaluate the economic implications associated with Canadian innovations in the delivery of palliative care services. ⋯ These results demonstrate that the introduction of comprehensive and community-based palliative care services resulted in increased palliative care service delivery and cost neutrality, primarily achieved through a decreased use of acute care beds.
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To develop a method for estimating the population who could potentially benefit from receiving palliative care in the last year of their lives, and then apply the estimates to the Western Australian population to ascertain characteristics of these people. ⋯ Unlike traditional palliative care estimates that focus on malignant disease, this study included nonmalignant conditions in a set of three estimates of a potential palliative care population. By using population-based data to describe characteristics of people who compose palliative care populations, these results offer a tool for planning equitable healthcare services.