Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Tools to help healthcare professionals recognize palliative care needs in patients with advanced heart failure: A systematic review.
The delivery of palliative care interventions is not widely integrated in chronic heart failure care as the recognition of palliative care needs is perceived as difficult. Tools may facilitate healthcare professionals to identify patients with palliative care needs in advanced chronic heart failure. ⋯ Seven tools were identified which showed different and limited levels of validity in the context of palliative care and chronic heart failure.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
End-of-life care after the legal introduction of advance directives: A qualitative study involving healthcare professionals and family caregivers of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Advance care planning and advance directives play a key role in the care of life-threatening illnesses such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ⋯ The introduction of advance directives by law has not been sufficient to improve end-of-life care. In order to make legal regulation effective, the organization of healthcare services needs to be improved and clearer procedures have to be implemented and shared with patients and families.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
ReviewThe support needs of parent caregivers of children with a life-limiting illness and approaches used to meet their needs: A scoping review.
Provision of paediatric palliative care is complex and optimally covers meeting the individual needs of a heterogenous population of children and their parent caregivers throughout a life-limiting illness. It is unclear whether existing approaches comprehensively address parent caregivers' needs. ⋯ Support needs of parent caregivers of children with life limiting illnesses are substantial and heterogenous. While studies report evidence of burden and distress in parent caregivers, this rarely translates into improvements in practice through the development of interventions. A systematic and regular assessment of individual parent caregiver support needs is required by using instruments appropriate to use in clinical practice to move the focus to palliative care interventions and improved services for parents.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Nursing education on palliative care across Europe: Results and recommendations from the EAPC Taskforce on preparation for practice in palliative care nursing across the EU based on an online-survey and country reports.
Nurses are the largest regulated group of healthcare professionals involved in palliative care. In 2004, a taskforce of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) launched the 'Guide for development of palliative nurse education in Europe' (hereinafter, the EAPC 2004 Guide). No systematic evaluation of its impact in the development of palliative care education was undertaken. ⋯ Palliative care nursing education varies largely in Europe. The wide awareness and use of the EAPC 2004 Guide show how policy measures can influence the development of palliative care education. Recommendations are built and focus on both fostering the use of this guide and implementing policy measures to ensure that palliative care nursing is recognised and certified as a specialty in all European countries.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Prevalence of burnout in healthcare professionals providing palliative care and the effect of interventions to reduce symptoms: A systematic literature review.
In recent years there has been increasing attention for the prevalence and prevention of burnout among healthcare professionals. There is unclarity about prevalence of burnout in healthcare professionals providing palliative care and little is known about effective interventions in this area. ⋯ The range of burnout among healthcare professionals providing palliative care varies widely. Interventions based on meditation, communication training, peer-coaching and art-therapy based supervision have positive effects but long-term outcomes are not known yet.