BMJ supportive & palliative care
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Sep 2015
Experiences of healthcare professionals in the community dealing with the spiritual needs of children and young people with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions and their families: report of a workshop.
We sought to understand how healthcare professionals (HCP) conceptualise spirituality among seriously ill children and young people (CYP) and their families, and their experiences in dealing with spiritual issues that emerge in practice. ⋯ The findings underscore the complexity of spirituality in times of illness and the challenges faced in its management. HCP should be alerted to the myriad ways spirituality emerges in serious illness and opportunities for developing confidence in attending to spiritual issues with CYP and families through training. Research should explore with patients, families and HCP how tensions among CYP, autonomy, the maintenance of hope and miracle beliefs are best approached within care.
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Jun 2015
Preference for a single or shared room in a UK inpatient hospice: patient, family and staff perspectives.
This study investigated the preferences of patients, family and staff for single or shared rooms in a UK hospice. ⋯ The study concludes that single and shared rooms should be available in a hospice. Innovative planning can enable the social benefits of shared rooms to be maintained without compromising patients' privacy and dignity.
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Jun 2015
Managing end of life medications at home--accounts of bereaved family carers: a qualitative interview study.
To explore how bereaved family members recall managing end of life medications when delivering care to a patient dying at home in England. ⋯ Family carers require more information about end of life drugs and their effects, support and training in managing medication for a dying person.
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BMJ Support Palliat Care · Jun 2015
Breaking the taboo: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of healthcare professionals' experience of caring for palliative patients with disgusting symptoms.
Disgusting symptoms are common in healthcare settings. Previous research has identified that healthcare professionals systematically avoid contact with patients with disgusting symptoms, potentially compromising patient care. Furthermore, research has highlighted disgust in healthcare professionals as a possible contributory factor to dehumanisation and abuse of patients. Given that healthcare professionals often feel that disgust is unprofessional, they may also feel unable to express or process disgust in their work, potentially impacting their emotional health, and contributing to burning out. Given the ubiquity of disgust in palliative care, we investigated how palliative healthcare professionals' experience and cope with disgust in their work, and how they are supported in doing so. ⋯ Three key findings emerged. Firstly, participants were uncomfortable talking about disgust at work, reducing their access to support for disgust. Secondly, participants often neglected their own emotional needs, and as a result, sometimes become emotionally entangled with patients. Finally, participants were at risk of reducing vital socio-emotional support for patients with disgusting symptoms. Based on our analysis, we suggest interventions to counteract these effects.