Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
Bureaucracy and burden: An Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis of social welfare policy with consequences for carers of people with life-limiting illness.
For informal carers of people with life-limiting illness, social welfare policy related to income support and housing has been associated with varied psychosocial issues, yet remains relatively under-explored. An intersectional approach offers potential to illuminate diverse experiences and implications. ⋯ This intersectional analysis establishes critical exploration of the framing and consequences of welfare policy for carers of people with life-limiting illness, presented in a novel conceptual model. Implications relate to intersectoral development of structural competency, responsiveness to structurally vulnerable carers in clinical practice, and needed policy changes.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
ReviewLiving experiences of people with advance cancer with low socioeconomic status: A systematic review of qualitative evidence.
The number of patients with advanced cancer is rapidly increasing, and the subgroup of this population with low socioeconomic status has suffered more disease burden than others. However, there is no recent qualitative synthesis of primary research studies into advanced cancer patients with low socioeconomic status. ⋯ Patients with advanced cancer with low socioeconomic status experienced complicated and interactional distresses, unique life barriers, and a wide range of adaptation strategies. These findings will provide a comprehensive perspective to promote individual-centred health care systems and services to help these vulnerable people deal with the challenges of disease and improve their quality of life.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
If not home, where? Implementing an innovative model of care as an alternative place of care & death for patients living in an area of high socio-economic deprivation. Short-report on opening a long-term palliative care unit.
Healthcare professionals and policy makers often view home as the most appropriate place of care and death for patients. However, this makes assumptions about what home is like and does not account for high levels of complexity experienced by patients from areas of high socioeconomic deprivation. Alternative models of care should be explored to provide equitable care for this patient group. ⋯ We suggest that this model has been a valuable asset in providing an alternative place to home, enabling patients to receive high-quality care towards end of life. Further research is needed to hear directly from patients about their experiences.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
ReviewSerious health-related suffering experienced by children with disability and their families living in Bangladesh: A scoping review.
In 2020, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care redefined palliative care to incorporate the concept of serious health-related suffering. An estimated 21 million children globally live with conditions which would benefit from a palliative approach to relieve suffering. Bangladesh is a lower-middle income country with isolated provision of palliative care. ⋯ Findings document the extensive nature and burden of serious childhood health-related suffering that may be remediated by a palliative approach. They highlight the urgent need to prioritise service development and research in this area.
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
'Sadly I think we are sort of still quite white, middle-class really' - Inequities in access to bereavement support: Findings from a mixed methods study.
Voluntary and community sector bereavement services are central to bereavement support in the UK. ⋯ Service providers report inequities in access to bereavement support. Attention needs to be paid to identifying, assessing and meeting unmet needs for appropriate bereavement support. Identified positive interventions can inform service provision and research.