Journal of palliative medicine
-
Because many patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) continue to survive into adulthood, discussion of end-of-life care decisions between clinicians and patients becomes a crucial part of CF adult care. Advance care planning (ACP) promotes alignment of patient care at the end of life with an individual's goals, however minimal research exists on ACP in CF. ⋯ Though the majority of adults with CF report thinking about and communicating with family about advance care wishes, only a minority report completing an advance directive. Few adults with CF report being asked about ACP by their clinicians. Formulating specific wishes and discussing ACP with a clinician are strongly associated with completing an advance directive. Efforts to improve clinician communication with CF adults around ACP are needed to ensure that discussion of advance directives becomes an integral component of adult CF care.
-
Withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy (LST) occurs commonly in critical care units, yet little is known about the family experience with this process. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experience of families participating in the process of withdrawal of LST from a family member with an unexpected, life-threatening illness or injury. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used as nineteen families were interviewed and observed. ⋯ Methodological rigor was established and redundancy was achieved. The categories that evolved from the data included: this happens to other families, time to understand the severity of the illness or injury, time to see if health would be restored, riding a roller coaster, family readiness: willingness to consider withdrawal of LST as a possible option, one step at a time, family readiness: time to make a decision, the family will go on, and waiting for a miracle. The family experience participating in the process of withdrawal of LST happened for families "in their own time." The results of this study have important implications for clinical practice and future research.
-
The roles of a pharmacist in hospice and inpatient palliative care settings have been described. However, no reports of a palliative care pharmacist in an ambulatory care setting have been published. Our objective was to establish a model for incorporating an outpatient clinical pharmacist as part of a multidisciplinary palliative care team. ⋯ This is the first report of a palliative care pharmacist in a retail-based ambulatory care setting. Initial results demonstrate the success of this pilot program.
-
Despite the world-wide growth of specialist palliative care services, the bulk of care and decision making at the end of life are delivered in general hospital, primary care, and aged care settings. Health workers of all disciplines therefore need to develop attitudes, knowledge, and skills required to deliver palliative care. ⋯ The majority of participants identified that the program increased their levels of interest, knowledge, and confidence in relation to palliative care. The findings demonstrate that multidisciplinary educational approaches of this type can be effective in the context of delivering palliative care education. The high demand to attend the program suggests the need for ongoing palliative care educational activities.
-
Hospital palliative care programs provide high-quality, comprehensive care for seriously ill patients and their families. ⋯ This study represents the most recent estimate to date of the prevalence of hospital palliative care in the United States. There is wide geographic variation in access to palliative care services although factors predicting hospital palliative care have not changed since 2005. Overall, medical students have high rates of access to hospital palliative care although complete penetration into academic settings has not occurred. The association between hospital palliative care penetration and lower Medicare costs is intriguing and deserving of further study.