Journal of palliative medicine
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Depression and pain often coexist in terminally ill patients, but few studies have examined their relationship among larger samples. Other psychosocial factors experienced by patients may become barriers to pain management and affect the relationship between depression and pain. ⋯ Findings support the positive relationship between depression and pain in terminally ill elders. Feeling lonely may affect the tendency to report pain. To ensure optimal pain management for patients in palliative and end-of-life care, assessment and intervention should focus on the impact of psychosocial factors such as loneliness, and how they may affect elders' reporting of pain.
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The critical need to expand and develop the palliative care evidence base was recently highlighted by the Journal of Palliative Medicine's series of articles describing the Research Priorities in Geriatric Palliative Care. The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is uniquely positioned to address many priority areas of palliative care research. This nationally representative, ongoing, longitudinal study collects detailed survey data every 2 years, including demographics, health and functional characteristics, information on family and caregivers, and personal finances, and also conducts a proxy interview after each subject's death. The HRS can also be linked with Medicare claims data and many other data sources, e.g., U.S. Census, Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. ⋯ In this article we present the work of this group as a potential roadmap for investigators contemplating the use of HRS data for palliative care research.
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Spiritual needs play an important role in palliative care as both a clinical dimension and a therapeutic strategy. However, recent studies have shown that the management of this dimension still remains a challenge at the clinical level of palliative care. ⋯ When patients knew the truth about their illnesses and they were treated with dignity, their most important needs were likely to be covered. These results suggest that patients receiving palliative care wish to live for the present with as much normality as possible and show only minor concern for their past and future.