Articles: palliative-care.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2022
ReviewILIVE Project Volunteer study. Developing international consensus for a European Core Curriculum for hospital end-of-life-care volunteer services, to train volunteers to support patients in the last weeks of life: A Delphi study.
Volunteers make a huge contribution to the health and wellbeing of the population and can improve satisfaction with care especially in the hospice setting. However, palliative and end-of-life-care volunteer services in the hospital setting are relatively uncommon. The iLIVE Volunteer Study, one of eight work-packages within the iLIVE Project, was tasked with developing a European Core Curriculum for End-of-Life-Care Volunteers in hospital. ⋯ Key items for volunteer training were agreed alongside items for implementation to embed the end-of-life-care volunteer service within the hospital. Recommendations for further research included in-depth assessment of the implementation and experiences of end-of-life-care volunteer services. The developed European Core Curriculum can be adapted to fit local cultural and organisational contexts.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2022
ReviewExistential suffering in the day to day lives of those living with palliative care needs arising from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): A systematic integrative literature review.
The impact of living with palliative care needs arising from COPD disrupts an individual's existential situation. However, no comprehensive synthesis of existing research has been published to determine the presentation and impact of existential suffering. ⋯ This review suggests existential suffering is present and of significant impact within the daily lives of those living with palliative care needs arising from COPD. The absence of life meaning has the most significant impact. Further research is required to understand the essential components of an intervention to address existential suffering for this patient group, to ensure holistic palliative care delivery.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2022
Multicenter Study Observational StudySexual health and closeness in couples coping with advanced cancer: Results of a multicenter observational study (eQuiPe).
Cancer and its treatment can severely affect sexual health. It is unknown how this may relate to the feelings of closeness between patients and their partners. ⋯ Couples coping with advanced cancer clearly face challenges regarding sexual health but are not likely to seek specialized support. When discussing sexual health, it is crucial that health care professionals pay attention to the aspects of sexual health that may contribute to feeling close to each other and suggest specialized care if necessary.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Apr 2022
Low Hospice Utilization in New York State: Comparisons Using National Data: Study of Low Hospice Utilization: National Data.
Hospice utilization in New York State (NYS) is low compared to the rest of the U.S. ⋯ NYS's low hospice utilization is independently associated with diverse factors, including those related to the health care system. Combined with information from stakeholders, these findings may help target, and inform initiatives to improve hospice utilization.