Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialMethylphenidate as needed for fatigue in patients with advanced cancer. A prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Cancer-related fatigue is a highly prevalent symptom with a strong negative impact on patients' daily life. ⋯ In this controlled and double-blind study in patients with advanced cancer, methylphenidate as needed was significantly more effective than placebo in relieving fatigue after two and five hours.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialMeasuring Goal-Concordant Care: Results and reflections from secondary analysis of a trial to improve serious illness communication.
Many consider goal-concordant care (GCC) to be the most important of advance care planning and palliative care. Researchers face significant challenges in attempting to measure this outcome. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of a system-level intervention to improve serious illness communication on GCC and other outcomes. ⋯ Measuring GCC remains a fundamental challenge to palliative care researchers. Ratings attest to the fact that many things matter to patients; however, rankings can better determine what matters most. Insights gained from our experience may guide future research aiming to use this outcome to assess the effect of intervention to improve serious illness care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialIn Search of Hospice Information: Consumer Information Available on Hospice Compare and Yelp.
Little is known about strategies for enrolling patients in home-based palliative care programs despite the need to conduct effectiveness studies of this emerging industry. ⋯ Our findings suggest that medical claims data may not be useful for engaging patients potentially eligible for palliative care research trials. We recommend that alternative identification and recruitment strategies be considered.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialReligious Coping in Cancer: A quantitative analysis of expressive writing samples from patients with renal cell carcinoma.
Past religiosity/spirituality (R/S) research has mainly relied on self-report instruments, which may result in self-presentation and defensive biases. ⋯ Behavioral coding of EW samples supported the literature suggesting that positive RC is common among patients with cancer. Although negative RC may be relatively rare, it may be associated with psychological distress.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2020
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyPatient-reported receipt of goal-concordant care among seriously ill outpatients - prevalence and associated factors.
Goal-concordant care is an important indicator of high-quality care in serious illness. ⋯ Seriously ill outpatients who prioritize a goal of relief of pain and discomfort are less likely to report receipt of goal-concordant care than patients who prioritize extending life. Future interventions designed to improve receipt of goal-concordant care should focus on identifying patients who prioritize relief of pain and discomfort and promoting care aligned with that goal.