Journal of palliative medicine
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Trust influences healthcare through the willingness to seek care, disclose sensitive information, adhere to treatment, and satisfaction with care. Understanding factors that influence trust may help in physician-patient relationship particularly at end of life. ⋯ Trust was associated with older age, less depressed, and more hopeful patients. A single 0-10 item trust scale was found to perform adequately compared with a multiple-item questionnaire.
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Tumor/treatment-related internal lymphedema (IL) and/or external lymphedema (EL) are associated with functional deficits and increased symptom burden in head and neck cancer patients (HNCP). Previously, we noted association between EL/IL and patient-reported dysphagia using the Vanderbilt Head and Neck Symptom Survey (VHNSS) version 1.0. ⋯ IL correlated with subjective and objective measures of swallow dysfunction. Longitudinal analysis of trajectory and impact of IL/EL on dysphagia is ongoing.
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Palliative care is associated with decreased treatment intensity and improved quality for individual patients at the end of life, but little is known about how hospital-wide outcomes are affected by the diffusion of palliative care principles. ⋯ Hospital-based palliative care programs alone may not be sufficient to impact ICU LOS or hospice length of enrollment for all chronically ill older adults admitted to hospitals. Future work should measure hospital-wide palliative care outcomes and effects of core palliative knowledge and skills provided by nonpalliative care specialists.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of 5 Minutes of Mindful Breathing to the Perception of Distress and Physiological Responses in Palliative Care Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Study.
Palliative cancer patients suffer from high levels of distress. There are physiological changes in relation to the level of perceived distress. ⋯ Five-minute MB is a quick, easy to administer, and effective therapy for rapid reduction of distress in palliative setting. There is a need for future study to establish the long-term efficacy of the therapy.