J Palliat Care
-
Biography Historical Article
John Keats and Wilfred Owen--mortality, mystery, and the pursuit of truth: lessons for palliative care.
-
Multicenter Study
Turkish healthcare professionals' views on palliative care.
The concept of modern palliative care has been disseminating slowly in Turkey and has recently been included in the National Cancer Control Program. The aim of this study was to explore healthcare professionals' knowledge and views of palliative care. It was conducted at three hospitals with a sample of 369 healthcare professionals working in adult clinics. ⋯ Most respondents stated that there was a lack of in-service/continuing education in palliative care, and more than half said they had not received any education in palliative care. A majority stated that the meaning and goal of palliative care is "improving the quality of life of a patient who is in the terminal stage." Lack of awareness of palliative care and a lack of educational resources in that field are the most frequently reported barriers to the development of palliative care in Turkey. Palliative care should be included in curricula for healthcare professionals and in-service education programs should be established.
-
The deaf community is a distinct cultural and linguistic community (the uppercase D is a cultural identification). Compared to the general population, the deaf community, as a social group, experiences poorer health status. Deaf people seek care less frequently than the general population and have fewer interactions with the health system. ⋯ Key findings indicate that the deaf community has limited understanding of their options for palliative and end-of-life care. Communication and health literacy are key barriers to accessing appropriate end-of-life care. Pain and symptom management, consideration of physical environments, and limited access to bereavement care are common issues faced by deaf people when caring for loved ones at the end of life.
-
This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a training program to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy of palliative care staff and thus enable them to better detect and manage depression among palliative care patients and their families. Participants were 90 professional carers who completed a four-session training program. Knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and barriers to working with depressed patients were assessed preintervention, post-intervention, and at a three-month follow-up. ⋯ Improvements were maintained at the three-month follow-up in all areas except attitudes. The results of this study indicate the importance of training in managing depression among palliative care staff. Booster sessions will likely be needed to ensure that training program gains are maintained.