Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
Hospital-based bereavement care provision: A cross-sectional survey with health professionals.
An in-hospital death is a profound experience for those left behind and has been associated with family members' psychological morbidity. Supporting bereaved family members is an essential part of end-of-life care and includes attentive presence, information-giving, and emotional and practical support. The actual adoption of hospital-based bereavement care, however, remains little understood. ⋯ The study indicates that many barriers to bereavement care exist in hospitals. More research is required to better understand enabling and limiting factors to bereavement care provision. A guideline-driven approach to hospital-based bereavement care that defines best practice and required organizational support seems necessary to ensure needs-based bereavement care.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
Do journals contribute to the international publication of research in their field? A bibliometric analysis of palliative care journal data.
Research is important internationally, impacting on health service provision and patient benefit. Journals play an important dissemination role, but there may be geographical bias, potentially affecting access to evidence. ⋯ Publishers, editors and authors are concentrated in North America or Europe. North American authors are more present in North American journals and European authors in European journals. This polarised approach, if replicated across readerships, may lead to research waste, duplication, and be sub-optimal for healthcare development.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
Availability of home palliative care services and dying at home in conditions needing palliative care: A population-based death certificate study.
Avoiding inappropriate care transition and enabling people with chronic diseases to die at home have become important health policy issues. Availability of palliative home care services may be related to dying at home. ⋯ Specialised home palliative care services may be suboptimal, and primary care services may serve as a key access point in providing baseline palliative care to people with conditions needing palliative care. Therefore, primary care services should aim to enhance their palliative care workforce.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2020
ReviewPractice review: Evidence-based and effective management of pain in patients with advanced cancer.
Pain of a moderate or severe intensity affects over half of patients with advanced cancer and remains undertreated in at least one-third of these patients. ⋯ Interventions commonly recommended by guidelines are not always supported by a robust evidence base. Research is required to evaluate the efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-convulsants, anti-depressants, corticosteroids, some invasive anaesthetic techniques, complementary therapies and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.