Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Sep 2012
What are the perceived needs and challenges of informal caregivers in home cancer palliative care? Qualitative data to construct a feasible psycho-educational intervention.
Tailored and specific interventions for informal caregivers in palliative care are rare. We aimed to generate evidence to inform a subsequent appropriate intervention based on caregivers' experiences. ⋯ Considering the time pressures and restricted caregiver time, the intervention should be brief and should aim to enhance their visibility as service recipients, patient-specific information giving, preparation for their role, and emotional support.
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Support Care Cancer · Sep 2012
Practicability, safety, and efficacy of a "German model" for opioid conversion to oral levo-methadone.
An algorithm to convert from any other opioid to oral levo-methadone was developed in Germany, the German model of levo-methadone conversion (GMLC). According to this GMLC, the pre-existing opioid is stopped, then titration of oral levo-methadone is initiated with a starting dose of 5 mg orally q 4 h (plus prn q 1 h). If necessary, levo-methadone dose is increased (pain) or decreased (side effects) by 30% q 4 h (plus prn q 1 h). After 72 h, the achieved single dose is maintained, but the dosing interval increases twofold to q 8 h (plus prn q 3 h). The aim of this study was to obtain information about the practicability, safety, and efficacy of the GMLC in clinical routine. ⋯ The presented study indicates that the GMLC provides a practical and reasonably safe approach to perform opioid rotation to levo-methadone in a palliative care setting.
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Support Care Cancer · Sep 2012
Demonstration and manifestation of self-determination and illness resistance--a qualitative study of long-term maintenance of physical activity in posttreatment cancer survivors.
The aim of this study was to describe posttreatment cancer survivors' lived experience of long-term maintenance of physical activity (PA). ⋯ This study indicates that cancer survivors' continued motivation for PA may be dependent on the fulfillment of a personal and conscious experience of being in the process of creating and living a comprehensible and meaningful life. Future theory-based interventions to encourage PA maintenance in cancer survivors could potentially benefit by integration of humanistic and existential psychology in addition to social cognitive theory and theory of planned behavior.
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In recent years, the number of palliative service providers has increased significantly. This expansion necessitates an evaluation in order to provide the basis for quality improvement of the care. Policymakers, managers of palliative care programs, and others committed to the improvement of end-of-life care need methods and criteria to measure and evaluate the care delivered. As quality measurement is expensive and difficult to undertake, it is fundamental that quality measures evaluate the right things. Quality evaluation in Italy is supported by health authorities who have developed some indicators of palliative care. The aims of this study were to give an overview of these indicators. ⋯ More attention should be paid to the development of outcome indicators of palliative care. The attempt to identify a group of indicators which cover every domain of palliative care represents a challenge for the future in terms of finding new cognitive models more oriented toward subjectivity.
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Support Care Cancer · Aug 2012
Preliminary development of a lymphedema symptom assessment scale for patients with head and neck cancer.
Currently, no instruments are available to assess symptoms secondary to lymphedema in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). The study aim was to develop and conduct preliminary tests of such an instrument. ⋯ Content validity of the LSIDS-H&N was supported by the expert panel during development of the LSIDS-H&N. Further testing is ongoing.