The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Dec 2016
ReviewCommunication Within Hospice Interdisciplinary Teams: A Narrative Review.
Hospice care is coordinated through an interdisciplinary team (IDT), which assures that a holistic care plan based on the patient's wishes is implemented. The extent to which an IDT provides quality care may be associated with how effectively they communicate within the team as well as with patients, caregivers, and families. ⋯ Although the existing literature sheds some light on communication within hospice IDTs, further research is needed. Inquiry into the communicative process of IDTs in settings other than team meetings, such as during patient visits or informal settings, would provide a more comprehensive representation of how communication influences IDT dynamics and overall team functioning.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Dec 2016
Physician Communication in Pediatric End-of-Life Care: A Simulation Study.
The objective of this exploratory study is to describe communication between physicians and the actor parent of a standardized 8-year-old patient in respiratory distress who was nearing the end of life. ⋯ The findings in this study, particularly that physician-parent end-of-life communication is often unclear and that alternatives to life-sustaining technology are often not offered, suggest that physicians need more training in both communication and end-of-life care.