Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2021
The impact of digital health interventions on the psychological outcomes of patients and families receiving paediatric palliative care: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.
Digital health interventions are becoming increasingly important and may be particularly relevant for paediatric palliative care. In line with the aims of palliative care, digital health interventions should aim to maintain, if not improve, psychological wellbeing. However, the extent to which the psychological outcomes of digital health interventions are assessed is currently unknown. ⋯ Despite the design and development of digital health interventions that span the technological landscape, little research has assessed their psychosocial impact in the paediatric palliative care community. Whilst the evidence base around the role of these interventions continues to grow, their impact on children and their families must not be overlooked.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2021
Parenting through grief: A cross-sectional study of recently bereaved adults with minor children.
Grieving adults raising parentally-bereaved minor children experience persistently elevated symptoms of depression and grief. However, the factors associated with their mental health outcomes are not well understood. ⋯ For bereaved adults with minor children, unanticipated co-parent death was linked with higher grief distress but not symptoms of depression. Addressing parenting concerns may represent a common pathway for improving the mental health of parentally-bereaved families.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2021
Association between religious beliefs and discussions regarding advance care planning: A nationwide survey.
The relationship between advance care planning and religious beliefs, which are important for palliative care, is controversial in Western countries and has not been verified in Asian countries. ⋯ The results suggest that holding religious beliefs, especially in Japanese Buddhism and Christianity, facilitates advance care planning discussions among Japanese adults, and thus, may help health-care providers identify those prioritized for facilitating engagement in advance care planning, especially in palliative and spiritual care settings.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2021
How doctors actually (do not) involve families in decisions to continue or discontinue life-sustaining treatment in neonatal, pediatric, and adult intensive care: A qualitative study.
Intensive care doctors have to find the right balance between sharing crucial decisions with families of patients on the one hand and not overburdening them on the other hand. This requires a tailored approach instead of a model based approach. ⋯ Even though tailoring doctors' communication to families' preferences is advocated, it does not seem to be integrated into actual practice. To allow for true tailoring, doctors' awareness regarding the impact of their communicative behaviors is key. Educational initiatives should focus especially on improving doctors' skills in tactfully exploring families' decision-making preferences and in mutually sharing knowledge, values, and treatment preferences.
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Palliative medicine · Dec 2021
Randomized Controlled TrialVirtual reality for pain management in advanced heart failure: A randomized controlled study.
Hospitalized patients with advanced heart failure often experience acute and/or chronic pain. While virtual reality has been extensively studied across a wide range of clinical settings, no studies have yet evaluated potential impact on pain management on this patient population. ⋯ Virtual reality may be an effective nonpharmacologic adjuvant pain management intervention in hospitalized patients with heart failure.