Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2021
Size and composition of family networks of decedents: A nationwide register-based study.
Seriously ill individuals rely heavily on family caregivers at the end of life. Yet many do not have family support. ⋯ While the majority of adults had an extensive family network at the time of death, a substantial proportion of decedents had no family, suggesting the need for non-family based long-term service and support systems. Assessment of family networks can expand our understanding of the end-of-life caregiving process and inform palliative care delivery.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2021
Variation in end-of-life care and hospital palliative care among hospitals and local authorities: A preliminary contribution of big data.
Many studies explore the clinical and ethical dimensions of care at the end-of-life, but fewer use administrative data to examine individual and geographic differences, including the use of palliative care. ⋯ The variation we document in end-of-life and hospital palliative care across different categories of hospitals and 95 local authorities raises important questions as to what constitutes appropriate hospital use and intensity at the end-of-life.
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2021
ReviewAttitudes and preferences towards palliative and end of life care in patients with advanced illness and their family caregivers in Latin America: A mixed studies systematic review.
Achieving universal access to palliative care is considered a global and equity priority. Understanding patients and caregivers' attitudes and preferences towards palliative and end-of-life care in Latin America is essential to develop person-centred services in the region. ⋯ Core themes provide context-specific evidence to inform the design of culturally sensitive palliative and end-of-life care services, models and public policies in Latin America.
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2021
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on end of life care delivery in care homes: A mixed method systematic review.
Current evidence suggests that COVID-19 is having a negative impact on the delivery of end of life care in care homes around the world. There is a need to collate current evidence to provide a comprehensive overview to assess extent of the problem. ⋯ The effect of the pandemic has been to exacerbate existing problems in the provision of end of life care in care homes for both service providers and users, making that which was previously opaque starkly visible. Future research is needed to explore the effects of the pandemic and its management on those receiving end of life care in care homes and their significant others.
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2021
The association between ethnicity, socioeconomic deprivation and receipt of hospital-based palliative care for people with Covid-19: A dual centre service evaluation.
People from ethnic minority groups and deprived socioeconomic backgrounds have worse outcomes from COVID-19. ⋯ This large service evaluation showed no evidence that patients from ethnic minority or more deprived socioeconomic groups had longer time to palliative care referral. Ongoing data monitoring is essential for equitable service delivery.