Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2017
ReviewA systematic review of end of life care communication skills training for generalist palliative care providers: research quality and reporting guidance.
End-of-life care (EoLC) communication skills training for generalist palliative care providers is recommended in policy guidance globally. Although many training programs now exist, there has been no comprehensive evidence synthesis to inform future training delivery and evaluation. ⋯ Despite a proliferation of EoLC communication skills training interventions in the literature, evidence is limited by poor reporting and weak methodology. Based on our findings, we present a CONSORT statement supplement to improve future reporting and encourage more rigorous testing.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2017
Review Meta AnalysisThe effect of communication skills training for generalist palliative care providers on patient-reported outcomes and clinician behaviours: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
As most end-of-life care is provided by health care providers who are generalists rather than specialists in palliative care, effective communication skills training for generalists is essential. ⋯ CRD42014014777.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2017
Review Meta AnalysisThe effect of communication skills training for generalist palliative care providers on patient-reported outcomes and clinician behaviours: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
As most end-of-life care is provided by health care providers who are generalists rather than specialists in palliative care, effective communication skills training for generalists is essential. ⋯ CRD42014014777.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2017
ReviewState of the Science of Spirituality and Palliative Care Research Part I: Definitions and Taxonomy, Measurement, and Outcomes.
The State of the Science in Spirituality and Palliative Care was convened to address the current landscape of research at the intersection of spirituality and palliative care and to identify critical next steps to advance this field of inquiry. Part I of the SOS-SPC two-part series focuses on questions of 1) What is spirituality? 2) What methodological and measurement issues are most salient for research in palliative care? And 3) What is the evidence relating spirituality and health outcomes? After describing current evidence we make recommendations for future research in each of the three areas of focus. ⋯ Furthermore, the field would benefit from hypothesis-driven outcomes research based on a priori specification of the spiritual dimensions under investigation and their longitudinal relationship with key palliative outcomes, the use of validated measures of predictors and outcomes, and rigorous assessment of potential confounding variables. Finally, results highlight the need for research in more diverse populations.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2017
ReviewExploring genetic attributions underlying radiotherapy-induced fatigue in prostate cancer patients.
Despite numerous proposed mechanisms, no definitive pathophysiology underlying radiotherapy-induced fatigue (RIF) has been established. However, the dysregulation of a set of 35 genes was recently validated to predict development of fatigue in prostate cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. ⋯ The implications of herein presented RIF pathways are purely theoretical until specific end-point driven experiments are conducted in more congruent contexts. Nevertheless, the presented attributions are informative, directing future investigation to definitively elucidate RIF's pathoetiology. This study demonstrates an arguably comprehensive method of approaching known differential expression underlying a complex phenotype, to correlate feasible pathophysiology.