Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2018
Communicating end-of-life care goals and decision-making among a multidisciplinary geriatric inpatient rehabilitation team: A qualitative descriptive study.
In geriatric inpatient rehabilitation settings, where the goal is to optimise function, providing end-of-life care can be challenging. ⋯ Clinicians reported difficulties recognising patient deterioration towards death. Uncertainty and inconsistent communication among clinicians about patient deterioration negatively impacted team understanding, decision-making, and patient and family communication. Further education for all members of the multidisciplinary team focusing on how to recognise and communicate impending death will aid multidisciplinary teams to provide quality end-of-life care when required.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2018
Quality of dying and quality of end-of-life care of nursing home residents in six countries: An epidemiological study.
Nursing homes are among the most common places of death in many countries. ⋯ The quality of dying and quality of end-of-life care in nursing homes in the countries studied are not optimal. This includes countries with high levels of palliative care development in nursing homes such as Belgium, the Netherlands and England.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2018
Psychological morbidity and general health among family caregivers during end-of-life cancer care: A retrospective census survey.
Family carers provide vital support for patients towards end-of-life, but caregiving has considerable impact on carers' own health. The scale of this problem is unknown, as previous research has involved unrepresentative samples or failed to fully capture caregiving close to death. ⋯ Levels of psychological morbidity among family carers during end-of-life caregiving are far higher than indicated by previous research, indicating a substantial public health problem. Consistent assessment and support for carers to prevent breakdown in caregiving may produce cost savings in long term.