Journal of palliative medicine
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End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) train-the-trainer workshops prepare participants to teach ELNEC content to others. In 2010, researchers in Japan developed and validated the End-of-Life Nursing Education Questionnaire (ELNEQ) to measure the impact of ELNEC workshops on participants' readiness to teach the content. ⋯ The English version of the ELNEQ is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring the impact of ELNEC train-the-trainer workshops.
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The objective was to explore the utility of a new three-item depression screening tool concerning time and life perception (TLP-3), compared with the DSM-IV criteria. ⋯ TLP-3 is a novel and clinically applicable approach to assessing depression among palliative care patients. Further investigation is needed on the psychological significance of time and life perception distortions, and its possible application to screen for depression among patients nearing end of life.
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Racial and ethnic disparities in health care access and quality are well documented for some minority groups. However, compared to other areas of health care, such as disease prevention, early detection, and curative care, research in disparities in palliative care is limited. Given the rapidly growing population of minority older adults, many of whom will face advanced serious illness, the availability of high-quality palliative care that meets the varied needs of older adults of all races and ethnicities is a priority. This paper reviews existing data on racial and ethnic disparities in use of and quality of palliative care and outlines priorities for future research.
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Little regional data exists on the distress of people nearing the end of their lives and their caregivers. ⋯ The practical, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of people at the end of life in Botswana and their caregivers are not being fully met, with poor overall quality of life among the dying. More research is needed to explore how hospice and home health services and the services of spiritual leaders can be expanded to meet their needs.
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There are few studies specifically focused on the job satisfaction of hospice and palliative nursing assistants (NAs). The goal of this study was to ascertain factors contributing to NAs' job satisfaction and intent to remain with their current employer, garner suggestions for improving NA jobs, and inform hospice and palliative care providers concerned about retaining qualified, satisfied NAs. ⋯ This study found hospice and palliative NAs to be satisfied and committed to their jobs, which most viewed as long-term careers. However, organizations committed to recruitment and retention of committed and satisfied NAs would do well to ensure high-quality NA supervision, include NAs as valued team members, encourage positive work relationships, work to reduce problems identified by NAs as interfering with their work, and continue efforts to increase NA compensation.