Palliative medicine
-
Palliative medicine · Oct 2024
Review Meta AnalysisPerceptions and experiences of clinicians and correctional officers facilitating palliative care for people in prison: A systematic review and meta-synthesis.
As the number of people ageing in prison with complex healthcare needs continues to increase, so does the need for palliative care in the restrictive prison context. Palliative care for people in prison is facilitated by correctional officers, and prison- and hospital-based clinicians. A collective analysis of existing research to identify common experiences of these stakeholders globally has not been completed. ⋯ Providing palliative care for people in prison is complex and impacts stakeholders and people in prison with palliative care needs. Supporting person-centred care through a multi-service approach, stakeholder education and standards will improve the quality and accessibility of care.
-
Palliative medicine · Oct 2024
Review Meta AnalysisPatient and family perspectives on rural palliative care models: A systematic review and meta-synthesis.
Almost half the world's population lives in rural areas. How best to provide palliative care to rural populations is unclear. Privileging rural patient and family voices about their experiences of receiving care delivered via rural palliative care models is necessary. ⋯ The strategic inclusion of specialists alongside primary care providers is integral to optimising rural palliative care models. General Practioners are central to these models, through being embedded in their communities and as the conduit to specialist palliative care services. Rural palliative care patients and families value responsive care, trajectory signposting, effective communication, 24/7 support and recognise the value of virtual health. Globally, positive public policy and funding is critical to ensuring access to GP-led, specialist-supported, rural palliative care models.
-
Palliative medicine · Oct 2024
ReviewMaybe for unbearable suffering: Diverse racial, ethnic and cultural perspectives of assisted dying. A scoping review.
Assisted dying, also commonly known as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, is legal in many countries. Interest in assisted dying is growing due to evolving societal understandings of a good death and a desire for choice. Ethico-legal perspectives are well-known, but as societies become more heterogenous, a greater understanding of the perspectives of people from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds is needed. ⋯ Perspectives on assisted dying are dynamic and evolving. Even where assisted dying is legalised, individual's cultural attributes contribute to unique perspectives of assisted dying as an end-of-life option. Thus, understanding a person's culture, beliefs, expectations and choices in illness, treatment goals and care is fundamental, extending beyond what may be already considered as part of clinician-patient care relationships and routine advance care planning.
-
Palliative medicine · Oct 2024
ReviewBarriers and facilitators influencing referral and access to palliative care for children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions: a scoping review of the evidence.
Palliative care is an essential component of children's health services but is accessed by fewer children than could potentially benefit. ⋯ Barriers/facilitators to paediatric palliative care referral are well described. Interventions are less well described and often unevaluated. Multi-modal approaches incorporating stakeholders from all levels of the socioecological framework are required to improve paediatric palliative care referral and access.
-
Palliative medicine · Oct 2024
Comparative StudyDifferences in palliative care needs between cancer patients and non-cancer patients at the start of specialized palliative care: A nationwide register-based study.
Patients with non-cancer disease are less likely to receive specialized palliative care than cancer patients. To be able to provide the best specialized palliative care, it is important to understand palliative care needs of non-cancer patients and whether the type and level of needs differ from those of cancer patients. Large studies including both cancer and non-cancer patients, using validated needs-assessment-tools, are needed to understand differences in palliative care needs at admittance to specialized palliative care. ⋯ The higher levels of several symptoms/problems among non-cancer patients compared to cancer patients suggests that referral to specialized palliative care should be improved for non-cancer patients perhaps by improving identification of palliative needs.