Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomised phase II trial testing the acceptability and feasibility of a narrative approach to public health communication to increase community engagement with palliative care.
Communities have limited understanding of palliative care, creating barriers to informed choice around consideration of a full range of care options in the event of serious illness. Few empirically tested interventions are available to educate community about palliative care, and ultimately improve timely access to these services. ⋯ This study provides preliminary data to inform a future, longitudinal trial evaluating effectiveness and ultimately other evidence-based, public health approaches to improve community engagement with palliative care. Further studies are required to confirm the generalisability of findings to a broader representative sample and other settings including internationally.
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Palliative medicine · Sep 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialPatients' and caregivers' experiences of driving with chronic breathlessness before and after regular low-dose sustained-release morphine: A qualitative study.
Chronic breathlessness is a disabling syndrome that profoundly impacts patients' and caregivers' lives. Driving is important for most people, including those with advanced disease. Regular, low-dose, sustained-release morphine safely reduces breathlessness, but little is known about its impact on driving. ⋯ Driving contributed to a sense of identity and independence. Being able to drive increased the physical and social space available to patients and caregivers, their social engagement and well-being. Patients reported breathlessness at rest may impair driving skills, while the introduction of sustained-release morphine seemed to have no self-reported impact on driving. Investigating this last perception objectively, especially in terms of safety, is the subject of ongoing work.