Palliative medicine
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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
The burden of serious health-related suffering among cancer decedents: Global projections study to 2060.
Palliative care improves outcomes for people with cancer, but in many countries access remains poor. Understanding future needs is essential for effective health system planning in response to global policy. ⋯ Many people with cancer will die with unnecessary suffering unless there is expansion of palliative care integration into cancer programmes. Failure to do this will be damaging for the individuals affected and the health systems within which they are treated.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2021
Validation of the Distress Thermometer in patients with advanced cancer receiving specialist palliative care in a hospice setting.
Ongoing assessment of psychological reaction to illness in palliative and end of life care settings is recommended, yet validated tools are not routinely used in clinical practice. The Distress Thermometer is a short screening tool developed for use in oncology, to detect individuals who would benefit from further psychological assessment. However the optimal cut-off to detect indicative psychological morbidity in patients with advanced cancer receiving specialist palliative care is unclear. ⋯ The Distress Thermometer is a valid, accurate screening tool to be used in advanced cancer but with caution in relation to the lack of specificity. With little variation between the area under the curve scores, arguably a Distress Thermometer cut-off score of ⩾5 is most appropriate in screening for all types of psychological morbidity if sensitivity is to be prioritised.
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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.