Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
ReviewThe palliative care needs and experiences of people with advanced head and neck cancer: A scoping review.
The palliative care needs of people with advanced head and neck cancer pose unique complexities due to the impact the illness has on eating, speaking, appearance and breathing. Examining these needs would help provide guidance about developing relevant models of care and identify gaps in research knowledge. ⋯ This scoping review demonstrates the complexity of care for people with advanced head and neck cancer and the issues related to the current healthcare systems. Focus on appropriate referral criteria, increased integration and coordination of care and robust evaluation of specific care components seems key. Linkage between research and service design delivery across teams, disciplines and care settings seems pertinent.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Patient and public involvement in palliative care research: What works, and why? A qualitative evaluation.
Public involvement is increasingly considered a prerequisite for high-quality research. However, involvement in palliative care is impeded by limited evidence on the best approaches for populations affected by life-limiting illness. ⋯ Within palliative care research, it is important for involvement to focus on building and maintaining relationships, working flexibly, and identifying those with relevant experience. Taking a strategic approach and developing adequate infrastructure and networks can facilitate public involvement within this field.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Are family carers part of the care team providing end-of-life care? A qualitative interview study on the collaboration between family and professional carers.
The attention of healthcare professionals is directed mainly towards the recipients of care and often insufficiently towards family carers. However, an effective collaboration between professionals and family carers is vital to provide quality palliative and end-of-life care. Such collaboration is under-studied in a palliative care context. ⋯ This qualitative study about the experiences and perceptions of family carers of people with a chronic life-limiting illness living at home regarding the collaboration with different healthcare providers in the last phase life, showed that family carers experience a lot of possibilities, but perceive missed opportunities as well, for healthcare professionals to effectively collaborate with them for palliative care.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialPerspectives of bereaved partners of lung cancer patients on the role of mindfulness in dying and grieving: A qualitative study.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has been shown to reduce psychological distress in cancer patients but not their partners. Whether MBSR can support patients and partners in coping with the dying and grieving process is less well examined. ⋯ The present study showed that MBSR can facilitate lung cancer patients and their partners in accepting the forthcoming death and openly communicating about this, which can support a peaceful death and healthy grieving process.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialDo family meetings for hospitalised palliative care patients improve outcomes and reduce health care costs? A cluster randomised trial.
Family meetings facilitate the exploration of issues and goals of care however, there has been minimal research to determine the benefits and cost implications. ⋯ Family meetings may be helpful in reducing family caregiver distress and enhancing their preparedness for the caregiving role and it appears they may be conducted without increased hospital health utilisation impacts; although opportunity costs need to be considered in order to routinely offer these as a standardised intervention. Additional health economic examination is also advocated to comprehensively understand the cost-benefit implications.