Journal of palliative medicine
-
Research suggests that agitation is a common symptom for hospice patients, but while studies have examined the outcomes of music therapy on the agitated behaviors of patients in other settings, none have addressed this symptom in patients with terminal illnesses. ⋯ Results indicate that a single session of music therapy using the entrainment principle may be an effective treatment for hospice patients experiencing agitation.
-
Death with dignity (DWD) refers to the refusal of life-prolonging measures for terminally ill patients by "living wills" forms in advance. More and more oncology physicians are receiving DWD requests from advance cancer patients in mainland China. ⋯ Many Chinese oncology physicians have received advanced cancer patients' DWD requests and think that DWD should be legalized and implemented. Chinese health management departments should consider the demands of physicians and patients. It is important to inform physicians about the difference between DWD and euthanasia, as one-fifth of them were confused about it.
-
Provision of spiritual/religious (S/R) care has been associated with improvements in patient care, patient-provider relationships, and resource utilization. Clinicians identify a lack of training in S/R care as the primary impediment. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of one-day, simulation-based workshops to prepare interprofessional clinicians to function as capable, confident, and ethical spiritual care generalists. ⋯ This daylong workshop of concentrated instruction, including didactics, visual slideshow, simulation of clinical scenarios, and debriefing/discussion components, was efficient and effective in training clinicians from varied disciplines to learn basic generalist-level spiritual care skills and to collaborate more effectively with chaplains, the spiritual specialists.