Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2019
Hospitalizations of nursing home residents at the end of life: A systematic review.
End-of-life hospitalizations in nursing home residents are common, although they are often burdensome and potentially avoidable. ⋯ There is a wide variation in end-of-life hospitalizations, even between studies from the same country. Overall, such hospitalizations are common among nursing home residents, which indicates that interventions tailored to each specific health care system are needed to improve end-of-life care.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2019
Multicenter Study Observational StudyFamily sense of coherence and its associations with hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression in persons with cancer in palliative phase and their family members: A cross-sectional study.
There is evidence indicating that family sense of coherence predicts quality of family life and promotes family well-being. In families living with the palliative phase of cancer, low hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression are common in both persons with cancer and their family members. ⋯ Health care providers should strive to identify families with weak family sense of coherence, because of its associations with hope, anxiety and symptoms of depression, in order to offer them professional support and thereby achieve increased well-being during the palliative phase of cancer. Future studies should expand our knowledge of family sense of coherence and how to identify families at risk of lower levels of well-being.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2019
The use of personal narratives in hospital-based palliative care interventions: An integrative literature review.
People living with life-threatening illness experience unmet existential needs despite the growing research and clinical field of palliative care. Narrative interventions show promise in managing these problems, but more knowledge is needed on the characteristics of narrative interventions and the feasibility of using personal narratives in a hospital. ⋯ Various types of systematic palliative care interventions use personal narratives. Common to these is a shared psychotherapeutic theoretical understanding and aim. Clinical application in a hospital setting is both feasible and acceptable but requires flexibility regarding the practices of the setting and the needs of the patient.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2019
Do patients, families, and healthcare teams benefit from the integration of palliative care in burn intensive care units? Results from a systematic review with narrative synthesis.
Burn units are intensive care facilities specialized in the treatment of patients with severe burns. As burn injuries have a major impact in physical, psychosocial, and spiritual health, palliative care can be a strengthening component of integrated care. ⋯ This review reflects the challenging setting of burn intensive care units. Evidence from these articles suggests that the integration of palliative care in burn intensive care units improves patients' comfort, decision-making process, and family care. Further research is needed to better understand how the integration of palliative care in burn intensive care units may be fostered and to identify the outcomes of this integration.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2019
Observational StudyUse of time in people with a life-limiting illness: A longitudinal cohort feasibility pilot study.
To date, time-use studies in palliative care have been limited to exploration of time commitments of caregivers. Understanding time-use in people with a life-limiting illness might provide insight into disease progression, symptom management and quality of life. ⋯ A repeated-measures time-use study design is feasible and was not unduly burdensome for caregivers and people living with a life-limiting illness.