Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2023
ReviewPalliative care for adolescents and young adults with advanced illness: A scoping review.
Age-related complex medical conditions have been commonly reported among adolescents and young adults with advanced life-limiting illness. There is increasing interest in exploring their palliative care needs and end-of-life experiences. ⋯ The findings of this review shed light on the different palliative care experiences and knowledge gaps related to adolescents and young adults as an underserved and vulnerable patient population. Further research needs to be dedicated toward palliative care programs tailored for adolescents and young adults.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2023
ReviewThe concept of holism applied in recent palliative care practice: A scoping review.
Whilst there is a sense of holism existing within palliative care practice, what is not clear is the extent to which holism, as applied in recent palliative care practice, has been adequately researched. Currently, no reviews on this topic were identified through systematic and scoping review registries. ⋯ The results from the review led to identifying key features of palliative care that were presented as interconnected aspects of holistic care domains in both assessments and interventions. The literature revealed a focus on curative and biomedical approaches to disease management with holistic aspects acknowledged, but not in the forefront of core service delivery. Holism was generally conceptualised as an overarching theoretical framework to palliative care service provision and positioned as an adjunct to palliative models of care. These findings point to a gap in research that links the concept of holism to applied palliative care practices.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2023
Intersectoral collaboration in home-based end-of-life pediatric cancer care: A qualitative multiple-case study integrating families' and professionals' experiences.
Many children and adolescents with incurable cancer and their families prefer to receive end-of-life care and to die at home. This implies a transition of care from hospital to home and presupposes the establishment of a well-functioning collaboration between the family and professionals across health care sectors. ⋯ By highlighting key elements in the family-centered, intersectoral and interprofessional end-of-life care collaboration, our "Home-Based Pediatric End-of-Life Care Model for Children with Cancer" offers a framework for further optimization of home-based end-of-life care services for children with cancer and their families.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2023
"It's pretty much flying blind in the home care setting": A qualitative study on the influence of home care specific circumstances on sedation in specialist palliative home care.
Existing data on sedation at the end of life indicate challenges in the home care setting, leading to deviations from guidelines or non-provision of sedation. ⋯ Our data indicate that sedation practices might currently follow the healthcare professional's attitude or service policy rather than the patient's need. To avoid hospital admission in manageable cases and ensure that home care specific best practice standards are met, existing guideline recommendations have to be adapted and supplemented by additional supporting measures specific for the home care setting.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2023
The connections of physical and psychosocial symptoms among patients with terminal illnesses: A network analysis.
Patients with terminal illnesses have different symptoms. The goal of palliative care is to alleviate the suffering induced by these symptoms. Available research on symptoms has focused on their prevalence or identification of clusters. Little is known about the central symptoms contributing to the maintenance of the whole system of symptoms or the mechanism of influence between symptoms, particularly between physical and psychosocial symptoms. ⋯ This study is the first of its kind to investigate the connections and mechanism of influence between symptoms among patients with terminal illnesses. It offers clear pathways for intervention with the most influential symptoms of weakness, anxiety, and depression.