BMC palliative care
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BMC palliative care · Dec 2017
Validation of the German revised version of the program in palliative care education and practice questionnaire (PCEP-GR).
The evaluation of the effectiveness of undergraduate palliative care education (UPCE) programs is an essential foundation to providing high-quality UPCE programs. Therefore, the implementation of valid evaluation tools is indispensable. Until today, there has been no general consensus regarding concrete outcome parameters and their accurate measurement. The Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice Questionnaire (German Revised Version; PCEP-GR) is a promising assessment tool for UPCE. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of PCEP-GR and to demonstrate its feasibility for the evaluation of UPCE programs. ⋯ The PCEP-GR has proven to be a feasible, economic, valid and reliable tool for the assessment of UPCE that comprises self-efficacy expectation and relevant attitudes towards palliative care.
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BMC palliative care · Dec 2017
Religious leaders' perceptions of advance care planning: a secondary analysis of interviews with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Bahá'í leaders.
International guidance for advance care planning (ACP) supports the integration of spiritual and religious aspects of care within the planning process. Religious leaders' perspectives could improve how ACP programs respect patients' faith backgrounds. This study aimed to examine: (i) how religious leaders understand and consider ACP and its implications, including (ii) how religion affects followers' approaches to end-of-life care and ACP, and (iii) their implications for healthcare. ⋯ Knowledge of religious beliefs and values around death and dying could be useful in preparing health professionals for ACP with patients from different religions but equally important is avoidance of assumptions. Community-based initiatives, programs and faith settings are an avenue that could be used to increase awareness of ACP among religious followers' communities.
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BMC palliative care · Dec 2017
Exploring the rewards and challenges of paediatric palliative care work - a qualitative study of a multi-disciplinary children's hospice care team.
Children's hospices are a key provider of palliative care for children and young people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. However, despite recent policy attention to the provision of paediatric palliative care, little is known about the role of children's hospice staff and the factors that may impact on their wellbeing at work. This study explored the rewards and challenges of working in a children's hospice with an aim to identify staff support and development needs. ⋯ Providing regular, structured, and dedicated clinical reflection provides a mechanism through which children's hospice staff can come together for support and learning, and demonstrates an organisational commitment to staff wellbeing and development. Being aware of children's hospice specific rewards and challenges can help to ensure that staff feel supported and competent in their role. Breaking down barriers to discussing work-related stress and enhancing awareness about early signs of burnout is also important.
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BMC palliative care · Dec 2017
Community-based specialist palliative care is associated with reduced hospital costs for people with non-cancer conditions during the last year of life.
Community-based palliative care is associated with reduced hospital costs for people dying from cancer. It is unknown if reduced hospital costs are universal across multiple life-limiting conditions amenable to palliative care. The aim of this study was to determine if community-based palliative care provided to people dying from non-cancer conditions was associated with reduced hospital costs in the last year of life and how this compared with people dying from cancer. ⋯ Community-based specialist palliative care was associated with hospital cost reductions across multiple life-limiting conditions.
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BMC palliative care · Dec 2017
ReviewCompassionate collaborative care: an integrative review of quality indicators in end-of-life care.
Compassion and collaborative practice are individually associated with high quality healthcare. When combined in a compassionate collaborative care (CCC) practice framework, they are reported to improve health, strengthen care provision, and control health costs. Little is known about how to integrate and measure CCC, yet it is fundamentally applied in palliative and end-of-life care settings. This study aimed to identify quality indicators of CCC by systematically reviewing and synthesizing the current state of the palliative and end-of-life care literature. ⋯ CCC is inextricably linked to the inherent values, needs and expectations of patients, families and healthcare providers. Compassion and collaboration must be enacted and harmonized to fully operationalize and sustain patient and family-centered care in palliative and end-of-life practice settings. Towards that direction, the quality indicators that emerged from this integrative review provide a two-fold application in palliative and end-of-life care. First, to evaluate the existing structures, processes, and outcomes at the patient-family, provider, team, and organizational levels. Second, to guide the planning and implementation of team and organizational changes that improve the quality delivery of CCC.