Journal of palliative medicine
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Working in hospice care is a highly challenging yet rewarding profession. However, the challenges of working with dying patients and their families can overwhelm even the most highly dedicated professional, leading to burnout, compassion fatigue, anxiety, and depression. ⋯ Poor mental health places staff at risk for burnout and likely contributes to staff leaving hospice care; this is a critical issue as the profession attempts to attract new staff to meet the expanding demands for hospice care.
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Research into acute hospital admissions (AHAs) of hospice patients is relatively underdeveloped. The goal of this study, based on the electronic health records (EHR) of a large Midwestern hospice service over a 3-year period, was to identify characteristics of new hospice patients that are associated with an increased risk of later AHAs. ⋯ The future agenda for research on AHA of hospice patients should include studies of large and undifferentiated hospice populations like our own, but designed to capture data on socioeconomic status (SES), religion, race/ethnicity, the details of supportive care in place, and a look at specific factors surrounding individual AHAs.
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Palliative care has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a critical policy element for the relief of suffering, yet palliative care policy receives minimal attention in mainstream U.S. public health journals, conferences, or textbooks. In the '90s, documentation of the lack of attention to end-of-life and palliative care in medical and nursing curricula led to concerted efforts to improve medical and nursing education in palliative care. No such educational effort has yet been directed toward public health professionals. ⋯ Schools of public health are not preparing future policy experts with a basic knowledge of the components and systems of palliative care and hospice. Development and dissemination of appropriate curricular material to address the public health and policy aspects of palliative care is needed to address this gap.