The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Aug 2013
Holding on to what you have got: keeping hospice palliative care volunteers volunteering.
In all, 119 hospice palliative care volunteers from 3 community-based hospice programs completed the Volunteer Retention Questionnaire (VRQ), a 33-item survey designed for this study. The VRQ asks volunteers to rate the importance of each item to their decision to continue volunteering. ⋯ Being recognized (eg, pins for years of service or being profiled in the hospice newsletter), receiving phone calls/cards from their volunteer coordinator on special occasions, and being reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses were among the items that received the lowest mean importance ratings. Suggestions for improving volunteer retention are provided.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Aug 2013
ReviewProviding quality palliative care in end-stage Alzheimer disease.
Providing quality palliative care is a daunting task profoundly impacted by diminished patient capacity at the end of life. Alzheimer disease (AD) is a disorder that erases our memories and is projected to increase dramatically for decades to come. By the time the patients with AD reach the end stage of the disease, the ability of patients to provide pertinent subjective complaints of pain and discomfort would have vanished. Historical perspectives of palliative care, exploration of the AD process, ethical issues, and crucial clinical considerations are provided to improve the understanding of disease progression and quality of care for patients with end-stage AD.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Aug 2013
Spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain among caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.
Caregivers of patients with advanced cancer often face physical, social, and emotional distress as well as spiritual pain. Limited research has focused on the spiritual aspects of caregivers' suffering in the palliative care setting. ⋯ The majority of caregivers of patients with advanced cancer considered themselves spiritual and religious. Despite this, there is high prevalence of spiritual pain in this population. Caregivers with spiritual pain experienced worse psychological distress and worse QOL. These findings support the importance of spiritual assessment of and spiritual support for caregivers in this setting.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Aug 2013
Physician knowledge, attitude, and experience with advance care planning, palliative care, and hospice: results of a primary care survey.
To evaluate primary care physicians' understanding of and experience with advance care planning (ACP), palliative care, and hospice and how this might affect their utilization of these services. ⋯ Often, discussions about ACP or referrals to palliative care or hospice do not occur until the patient is near the end of life. Our results indicate that primary care physician's personal and professional experience with ACP may be contributing to some of the barriers to these discussions.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Aug 2013
Impact of an oncology palliative care clinic on access to home care services.
Home care (HC) is important for patients with cancer as performance status declines. Our study of 1224 patients at a Canadian cancer center examined the impact of an oncology palliative care clinic (OPCC) on HC referral. The HC referral frequency was calculated before and after the first OPCC consultation, in total and according to performance status (Palliative Performance Scale, PPS). ⋯ After the first OPCC consultation, there was an increase in HC referral from 39% (477 of 1224; 49% of those with PPS ≤60) to 69% (841 of 1224; 88% of those with PPS ≤60). Factors independently associated with HC referral were poor PPS (P < .001) and older age (P = .003). Thus OPCC involvement resulted in markedly increased HC referrals, particularly for older patients with poor performance status.