The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2008
Resolving end-of-life ethical concerns: important palliative care practice development issues for acute medicine in Australia.
Historically palliative care research has focused on issues associated within the hospice and palliative care system. The findings presented in this manuscript reverse this assumption to argue that significant palliative care issues can only be understood if the focus is on the acute care system. ⋯ In short, understanding the ethical decision making of acute care professionals in relation to end-of-life care can illuminate many important palliative care practice development issues. The findings indicate that all professional groups in this study of an acute medical ward find end-of-life issues the most challenging of all the ethical challenges.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2008
The Japan HOspice and Palliative Care Evaluation study (J-HOPE study): study design and characteristics of participating institutions.
This article describes the study design and background data of participating institutions in the Japan HOspice and Palliative care Evaluation (J-HOPE) study. The J-HOPE study is a large nationwide survey about the dying experience of cancer patients. The primary aim of this article is to describe the design of the J-HOPE study for the bereaved family members of Japanese inpatient palliative care units and home hospices. ⋯ The questionnaires were sent to 7955 bereaved family members of the Japanese inpatient palliative care units and 447 of the home hospices. The authors describe the structure of the Japanese inpatient palliative care units and home hospices, including type of staff, architectural structure, number of patients, and death. In addition, the authors describe available treatments at the Japanese inpatient palliative care units and home hospices.