Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Palliative care in Latin America: Are we making any progress? Assessing development over time using macro indicators.
Monitoring and reporting palliative care development serves to identify progress as well as remaining challenges for improvement. ⋯ Significant advances in palliative care development in Latin America have been achieved. The ALCP-II Index is useful for assessing and comparing palliative care development across countries.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Healthcare Disparities and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Primary Language and Translations of Visitor Policies at NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused unprecedented disruptions to cancer care, including through strict hospital visitation policies. Since a substantial proportion of the U.S. population report a non-English language as their primary language, it is critical that information is disseminated in multiple languages. ⋯ `Most CCC's did not publish non-English language translations of their visitor policies. Even in cities and states with larger Hispanic/Latinx populations, most CCCs did not publish resources in Spanish. This study highlights a key opportunity to mitigate communication barriers and deliver culturally competent, patient-centered care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
ReviewHuman Connection and Technology Connectivity: A Systematic Review of Available Telehealth Survey Instruments.
The current upsurge in telehealth use in palliative and hospice care warrants consideration of patient, family caregiver, and interdisciplinary palliative perspectives on telehealth modality and communication experiences. Currently, telehealth experiences and encounters are being described but not yet extensively evaluated by palliative care teams. ⋯ Palliative care teams may consider familiarity with telehealth survey instrument as an essential component to progress from description of telehealth use to evaluation of telehealth encounters. Current survey instrument outcome reports do not represent inclusivity or diversity, although telehealth is now being clinically applied across settings.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
ReviewDo the clinical management guidelines for Covid-19 in African Countries reflect the African quality palliative care standards? A review of current guidelines.
Palliative care should be a component of COVID-19 management to relieve suffering, improve patient outcomes and save cost. ⋯ Comprehensive palliative care which addresses physical, psychological, social and spiritual concerns must be prioritized within case management guidelines in African countries.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Course of changes in emotional preparedness for death and its associations with caregiving outcomes for family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients over their last year of life.
Preparing family caregivers for a patient's death is an integral component of quality end-of-life care, but temporal changes in emotional preparedness for death and its associations with caregivers' psychological well-being or quality of life (QOL) while providing end-of-life caregiving are under-researched. Our study was conducted to fill this gap. ⋯ Without active, effective clinical interventions to promote caregivers' emotional preparedness for death, they cannot automatically become more prepared for the patient's death over time. Adequate emotional preparedness for the patient's death benefits caregivers by its associations with a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms and better QOL. Supportive programs for caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients should focus on not only enhancing caregiving skills but also cultivating emotional preparedness for their relative's death to promote their psychological well-being and QOL.