Articles: palliative-care.
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Palliative medicine is an important component of care for patients with advanced cancer. Previous studies demonstrated that surgeons tend to underuse palliative care in comparison with medical services. In addition, little is known about the specific use of palliative care services among surgical oncology practices. Therefore, we designed and performed this study to evaluate the use of palliative care in medical and surgical oncology patients. ⋯ Surgical patients were less likely to undergo palliative care consultation for assistance with symptom management and more likely to undergo consultation for assistance with end-of-life discussions than were medical oncology patients. Advanced care planning and end-of-life discussions should be an area of focus in palliative care education for surgeons.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2020
A mixed-methods pilot study of 'LIFEView' audiovisual technology: Virtual travel to support well-being and quality of life in palliative and end-of-life care patients.
There is evidence that psychosocial and spiritual interventions of short duration, such as reminiscence therapy, provide positive impacts on quality of life and emotional and existential well-being in adults receiving palliative care. ⋯ A future adequately powered study to investigate the impacts of 'LIFEView' on patient well-being and quality of life appears to be feasible.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2020
Nursing competencies across different levels of palliative care provision: A systematic integrative review with thematic synthesis.
Palliative care exists in diverse healthcare settings. Nurses play a crucial role in its provision. Different levels of palliative care provision and education have been recognized in the literature. Therefore, nurses need a set of various competencies to provide high-quality palliative care. ⋯ Nurses need a wide range of competencies to provide quality palliative care. Few studies focused on which competencies are relevant to a specific level of palliative care. Further research is needed to systematize the nursing competencies and define which nursing competencies are central for different levels of palliative care to enhance palliative care development, education and practice.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2020
Creating a Palliative Care Inpatient Response Plan for COVID19 - The UW Medicine Experience.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is stressing health care systems throughout the world. Significant numbers of patients are being admitted to the hospital with severe illness, often in the setting of advanced age and underlying comorbidities. Therefore, palliative care is an important part of the response to this pandemic. The Seattle area and UW Medicine have been on the forefront of the pandemic in the U.S. ⋯ Strategy planning for delivery of high-quality palliative care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic represents an important area of need for our health care systems. We share our experiences of developing such a strategy to help other institutions conduct and adapt such strategies more quickly.
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Case Reports
Pediatric Palliative Care in a Pandemic: Role Obligations, Moral Distress, and the Care You Can Give.
Many ethical issues arise concerning the care of critically ill and dying patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In this issue's Ethics Rounds, we present 2 cases that highlight 2 different sorts of ethical issues. ⋯ The other is focused on the psychological issues that arise for parents who are caring for a dying child when infection-control policies limit the number of visitors. Both of these situations raise challenges for caregivers who are trying to be honest, to deal with their own moral distress, and to provide compassionate palliative care.