The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Feb 2018
Clinical TrialEvaluation of the Appropriate Washout Period Following Fan Therapy for Dyspnea in Patients With Advanced Cancer: A Pilot Study.
To clarify the duration required for dyspnea to return to baseline severity after fan therapy, to evaluate whether fan-to-legs therapy or no fan therapy would be a suitable control therapy, and to investigate changes in patients' face surface temperature after fan therapy. ⋯ When using a crossover design to investigate the effect of fan therapy on dyspnea, 1 hour is an insufficient washout period.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Feb 2018
Association Between Nursing Visits and Hospital-Related Disenrollment in the Home Hospice Population.
Over 10% of hospice patients experience a transition out of hospice care during the last months of life. Hospice transitions from home to hospital (ie, hospital-related hospice disenrollment) result in fragmented care, which can be burdensome for patients and caregivers. Nurses play a major role in delivering home hospice care, yet little is known about the association between nursing visits and disenrollment. ⋯ More nursing visits per week was associated with a decreased likelihood of a hospital-related hospice disenrollment. Further research is needed to understand what components of nursing care influence care transitions in the home hospice setting.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Feb 2018
Compassion Fatigue Among Palliative Care Clinicians: Findings on Personality Factors and Years of Service.
Palliative medicine is a rewarding field, but providers encounter patient trauma on a routine basis. Compassion fatigue, marked by burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and low satisfaction may result. However, professionals differ markedly in how they respond to patient trauma. The objective of the current study was to determine whether personality traits of neuroticism and agreeableness relate to aspects of compassion fatigue, after accounting for time spent working in the field. ⋯ Personality traits of neuroticism and agreeableness may convey risk and resilience, respectively, for palliative care professionals. More research is needed to determine if assessing personality traits can help identify providers at risk for adverse reactions to patient trauma.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Feb 2018
Expanding the Palliative Care Domains to Meet the Needs of a Community-Based Supportive Care Model.
Whole person care is appropriate for seriously ill persons. The current framework of palliative care domains in the National Consensus Project (NCP) Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care offers an opportunity to reassess the domains of care delivered at home, earlier in the course of illness. ⋯ The preponderance of family-related issues suggests that including the family domain may promote recognition and support of family caregivers and the services they provide. Although this study provides some support for including the legacy/bereavement and legal/financial domains, additional research is needed to determine whether there is a basis for including them in the domain structure.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Feb 2018
Teaching Medical Students About "The Conversation": An Interactive Value-Based Advance Care Planning Session.
Advance care planning (ACP) promotes care consistent with patient wishes. Medical education should teach how to initiate value-based ACP conversations. ⋯ A value-based ACP educational session using The Conversation Starter Kit successfully engaged medical students in learning about ACP conversations, both professionally and personally. This session may help students initiate conversations for themselves and their patients.