Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialSpiritual history taking in palliative home care: A cluster randomized controlled trial.
Many health-care providers experience barriers to addressing spiritual needs, such as not having the right vocabulary. The ars moriendi model might be a feasible tool for spiritual history taking in palliative care. ⋯ This cluster randomized controlled trial showed no demonstrable effect of spiritual history taking on patient scores for spiritual well-being, quality of life, health-care relationship trust, or pain. Further research is needed to develop instruments that accurately assess the effectiveness of spiritual interventions in palliative care populations.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2016
Coverage and development of specialist palliative care services across the World Health Organization European Region (2005-2012): Results from a European Association for Palliative Care Task Force survey of 53 Countries.
The evolution of the provision of palliative care specialised services is important for planning and evaluation. ⋯ Although there has been a positive development in overall palliative care coverage in Europe between 2005 and 2012, the services available in most countries are still insufficient to meet the palliative care needs of the population.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2016
Implementation of a pilot telehealth programme in community palliative care: A qualitative study of clinicians' perspectives.
Telehealth technologies are an emerging resource opening up the possibility of greater support if they have utility for patients, carers and clinicians. They may also help to meet health systems' imperatives for improved service delivery within current budgets. Clinicians' experiences and attitudes play a key role in the implementation of any innovation in service delivery. ⋯ Implementation of a pilot telehealth programme in a specialist palliative community team needs to involve clinical staff in service redesign from the outset. Reliable IT infrastructure and technical support is critical for telehealth models to be effective and will aid uptake.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2016
The role of the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool in palliative home care: A qualitative study of practitioners' perspectives of its impact and mechanisms of action.
The importance of supporting family carers is well recognised in healthcare policy. The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool is an evidence-based, comprehensive measure of carer support needs to facilitate carer support in palliative home care. ⋯ The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool delivered benefits through a change in practice to an identifiable, separate assessment process for carers, facilitated by practitioners but carer-led. Used routinely with all carers, the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool has the potential to normalise carer assessment and support, facilitate delivery of carer-identified support and enable effective targeting of resources.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2016
The impact of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on patients with advanced cancer and their family members: A qualitative study.
Little is known about the impact of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on patients with advanced cancer, such as its impact on the quality of life of this vulnerable group. To date, research on meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the palliative care setting has had a quantitative focus. ⋯ This article indicates that meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus can have a significant impact on advanced cancer patients and their families. This impact may be underestimated, but early and careful face-to-face explanation about meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and its implications can help patients and their families to cope better with it. These findings should be considered when developing policy relating to meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus management and infection control in specialist palliative care settings.