BMJ supportive & palliative care
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Jun 2013
Exploring education and training needs among the palliative care workforce.
Education and training are seen as 'absolutely essential parts of providing palliative care'. As part of a larger study to explore the extent of palliative care need in two acute hospital settings, we report the perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding their training and educational needs. ⋯ Although important, the use of standardised care pathways alongside the provision of education and training for healthcare professionals alone will not improve quality of care. More work is needed to examine and clarify the interplay of: behaviour change, setting, the 'cure' orientation approach, type of health professional and nature of any educational intervention in order to effect sustained behavioural change.
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Jun 2013
Observational StudyThe impact of advance care planning of place of death, a hospice retrospective cohort study.
There is limited evidence of the impact of advance care planning (ACP) on outcomes. We conducted a retrospective cohort study on deaths of all patients known to a hospice in a 2.5-year period to see if use of ACP affected actual place of death, hospital use and cost of hospital care in the last year. ⋯ ACP can be used routinely in a hospice setting. Those who used ACP spent less time in hospital in their last year. ACP is associated with a reduction in the number of days in hospital in the last year of life with less hospital costs, supporting the assumptions made in the End of Life Care Strategy 2008.