Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Dec 2008
A survey of the views of palliative care healthcare professionals towards referring cancer patients to participate in randomized controlled trials in palliative care.
Clinical trials in palliative care (PC), especially randomised controlled trials (RCTs), are notoriously difficult to complete. One perceived challenge is gatekeeping, the reluctance of some healthcare professionals (HCPs) to refer patients for research studies. This study aimed to identify the extent of gatekeeping from palliative RCTs. ⋯ The survey revealed an unwillingness on the part of many HCPs to refer patients for RCTs in PC. It identifies trial-related factors that may encourage or discourage referral. Gatekeeping has the potential block recruitment and introduce a selection bias.
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Support Care Cancer · Nov 2008
Effects of educational intervention on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward supplying artificial nutrition and hydration to terminal cancer patients.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of educational intervention on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions regarding supplying artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) to terminal cancer patients. ⋯ The educational intervention remarkably improved nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding supplying terminal cancer patients with ANH. As for the changes in the behavioral intentions, it requires long-term moral and ethical training and communication. The results of this research emphasized the importance of educational interventions, which should be considered seriously in future reference nursing education program.
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Support Care Cancer · Nov 2008
Comparative StudyComfort in the last 2 weeks of life: relationship to accessing palliative care services.
Specialised palliative care services (SPCS) aim to address the needs of patients and caregivers confronting life-limiting illnesses but only half of the potential cohort are referred. Randomised controlled trials of SPCS provision can no longer be ethically justified so there is a need to develop new methods to evaluate the net impact of SPCS for the whole community, not just for those who access SPCS. The aim of this study was to assess whether perceived comfort in the last 2 weeks of life was associated with accessing SPCS. ⋯ While this study provides further incremental evidence of benefit from access to SPCS, there is much that still needs to be done to improve care for the whole community at the end of life.
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Support Care Cancer · Nov 2008
The symptom experience in the first 100 days following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).
Despite advances in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), post-transplant complications are common, and patients' symptom experience has not been well documented. ⋯ Allogeneic HSCT patients present for transplantation with low symptom distress yet experience multiple symptoms and high symptom distress after HSCT conditioning. Understanding the symptom experience of allogeneic HSCT patients can guide management strategies and improve HRQL.
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Support Care Cancer · Nov 2008
Prevalence and treatment of cancer pain in Italian oncological wards centres: a cross-sectional survey.
The aim of this national cross-sectional survey was to draw information on pain prevalence and intensity from a large sample of patients who were admitted to oncologic centres for different reasons and to evaluate the pain treatment and possible influencing factors. ⋯ The results of this survey indicate a need for continuing educational and informative program in pain management for oncologists and more generally for any physician dealing with cancer patients.