Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Mar 2010
Multicenter StudyEnd-of-life issues in acute stroke care: a qualitative study of the experiences and preferences of patients and families.
The aims of this qualitative study were to identify patients' and family members' experiences of acute stroke and their preferences for end-of-life care. Twenty-eight purposely sampled patients with an acute stroke who had high (n = 13) and low (n = 15) disability were selected from 191 sequential cases admitted to two general hospitals in north-east England. In addition, 25 family members of other stroke patients were recruited. ⋯ No family member reported being offered the possibility of the patient dying at home. Uncertainty about prognosis is inevitable in clinical practice, and this can be difficult for patients and families. Our findings demonstrate the importance of improving communication between patient, family and health professionals for seriously ill patients with stroke in UK hospitals.
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Palliative medicine · Mar 2010
Multicenter StudyInviting the absent members: examining how caregivers' participation affects hospice team communication.
This paper is a secondary observation of a larger pilot study. The Assessing Caregivers for Team Intervention via Video Encounters intervention project enabled caregiver participation in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings. ⋯ Analysis found that team meetings with participating caregivers had better team outcomes, with more patient-centered goals, increased discussion of biopsychosocial problems, and the development of interdisciplinary care plans occurring more often than in the traditional hospice team meetings. Findings from this study show benefits for inclusion of caregivers in hospice team meetings.