The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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This paper discusses how hospice social workers assist patients and families in finding new hope and meaning in their lives as care goals turn from cure to comfort. Assessment factors important to the redefinition process and intervention strategies are explored. Hope is defined as the positive expectation for meaning attached to life events with the emphasis on meaning instead of life events. The author seeks to demonstrate the importance of meaning to the feeling of hope and the possibility of socially constructing meaning to alleviate the traditional medical perspective that hope revolves around the outcome of disease.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jan 2002
Multicenter StudyAssessment of pain and health-related quality of life in slowly progressive neuromuscular disease.
Few studies have examined the effect of pain on the quality of life of individuals with slowly progressive neuromuscular disease (NMD). The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and extent to which subjects with slowly progressive NMD report pain and the association between pain and health-related quality of life in persons with NMD. The study design was a descriptive, nonexperimental survey. ⋯ There was a significant correlation between increased pain and lower levels of general health, vitality, social function, and physical role. Pain was moderately associated with increased fatigue, inability to cope adequately with stress, and sleep disturbance. In conclusion, with the exception of adult SMA, the frequency and severity of pain reported in slowly progressive NMDs was significant.
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A meaningful death can be fostered for a patient and his or her family with the aid of medical treatment, specifically through the alleviation of the patient's suffering and pain. To recognize the dying process is a part of the art of medicine. ⋯ Hospice volunteer training and practice is sufficient palliative care training to develop these skills. The time has come for incorporating palliative care into the curriculum of medical school.