Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2021
"Hanging in a balance": A qualitative study exploring clinicians' experiences of providing care at the end of life in the burn unit.
Although the culture in burns/critical care units is gradually evolving to support the delivery of palliative/end of life care, how clinicians experience the end of life phase in the burn unit remains minimally explored with a general lack of guidelines to support them. ⋯ The end of life period in the burn unit is poorly defined coupled with prognostic uncertainty. Collaborative model of practice and further training are required to support the integration of palliative care in the burn unit.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2021
ReviewHow to measure the effects and potential adverse events of palliative sedation? An integrative review.
Palliative sedation is the monitored use of medications intended to relieve refractory suffering. The assessment of palliative sedation has been focused on the assess of the level of consciousness but a more comprehensive approach to assessment is needed. ⋯ There are palliative care validated instruments to assess the sedation effect but this review shows the need for a more standardized approach when assessing it. Instruments should be used within an experienced and trained expert, providing a holistic assessment.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2021
ReviewThe perspectives of children and young people affected by parental life-limiting illness: An integrative review and thematic synthesis.
Although the death of a parent during childhood is relatively commonplace, the voices of children affected by parental life-limiting illness are under-represented in research evidence. Guidance for healthcare professionals is largely based upon professional opinion rather than the experience of children themselves. ⋯ The review has enabled the voices of children affected by parental life-limiting illness to be heard and will inform the development of guidance for parents and professionals.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2021
ReviewEnd of life care for long-term neurological conditions: A meta-ethnographic review of the experiences of informal carers.
Family and friends are key providers of care for people living with a long-term neurological condition. Neurological conditions are a significant global contributor to disability and premature death. However, previous research suggests carers often struggle to access appropriate support at end of life. ⋯ Given the broad agreement on the challenges faced by carers of people living with long-term neurological conditions, future research should consider opportunities to improve information and support for this group, and the development and evaluation of practical models of service delivery.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2021
The Me in We dyadic communication intervention is feasible and acceptable among advanced cancer patients and their family caregivers.
Advanced cancer affects the emotional and physical well-being of both patients and family caregivers in profound ways and is experienced both dyadically and individually. Dyadic interventions address the concerns of both members of the dyad. A critical gap exists in advanced cancer research, which is a failure of goals research and dyadic research to fully account for the reciprocal and synergistic effects of patients' and caregivers' individual perspectives, and those they share. ⋯ This intervention showed feasibility and acceptability using participant-generated goals as personalized points of communication for advanced cancer dyads. This model shows promise as a communication intervention for dyads in discussing and working towards individual and shared goals when facing life-limiting or end-of-life cancer.