Journal of pain and symptom management
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PC-FACS(FastArticleCriticalSummaries for Clinicians inPalliativeCare) provides hospice and palliative care clinicians with concise summaries of the most important findings from more than 100 medical and scientific journals. If you have colleagues who would benefit from receiving PC-FACS, please encourage them to join the AAHPM at aahpm.org. Comments from readers are welcomed at pc-facs@aahpm.org.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2018
It Is Not What You Think: Associations Between Perceived Cognitive and Physical Status and Prognostic Understanding in Patients With Advanced Cancer.
Patients with advanced cancer often overestimate their time left to live. Those who have heightened awareness of their cognitive and physical deficits at the end of life may have a better prognostic understanding. ⋯ Patients who reported worse cognitive function and physical well-being were more aware of their terminal illness than those with better cognitive function.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2018
Randomized Controlled TrialThemes Addressed by Couples With Advanced Cancer During a Communication Skills Training Intervention.
Couple-based communication interventions have beneficial effects for patients with cancer and their partners. However, few studies have targeted patients with advanced stages of disease, and little is known about how best to assist couples in discussing issues related to life-limiting illness. ⋯ Findings suggest that couples likely would be receptive to an intervention that combines training in communication skills with guidance in focusing on issues related to life completion to assist with transitions at end of life. Such interventions might enhance both individuals' abilities to cope with illness-related symptoms and demands, enjoy the time they have together, and derive meaning from the experience.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2018
Validation of the Amharic Version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory for Assessment of Cancer-Related Fatigue in Ethiopian Cancer Patients.
Although cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a highly prevalent and distressing symptom associated with cancer and its treatment, it is mostly underscreened, underassessed, and undertreated. The Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) is a reliable and valid instrument to assess CRF. ⋯ The BFI-Am is an excellent assessment tool with adequate psychometric properties for use in both clinical management and symptom research of CRF in Ethiopian cancer patients.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2018
Feeling Heard and Understood in the Hospital Environment: Benchmarking Communication Quality Among Patients With Advanced Cancer Before and After Palliative Care Consultation.
Maximizing value in palliative care requires continued development and standardization of communication quality indicators. ⋯ Most patients felt incompletely heard and understood at the time of referral to palliative care consultation, and more than half of the patients improved after consultation. Feeling heard and understood is an important quality indicator sensitive to interventions to improve care and key variations in the patient experience.