Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Apr 2023
ReviewPalliative and end-of-life care needs, experiences, and preferences of LGBTQ+ individuals with serious illness: A systematic mixed-methods review.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals experience discrimination throughout the care continuum, including during serious illness and at end of life. High-quality palliative care requires that health professionals deliver individualized services that reflect the needs, experiences, and preferences of LGBTQ+ persons. ⋯ The robustness of the science has improved regarding the needs, experiences, and preferences of trans individuals. Actionable, inclusive policies coupled with sustained and integrated cultural sensitivity training for health workers are mandatory. Interventional research is critical to enhance tailored palliative care for LGBTQ+ people and their chosen families.
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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
ReviewPalliative care for people who use drugs during communicable disease epidemics and pandemics: A scoping review on access, policies, and programs and guidelines.
People who use drugs with life-limiting illnesses experience substantial barriers to accessing palliative care. Demand for palliative care is expected to increase during communicable disease epidemics and pandemics. Understanding how epidemics and pandemics affect palliative care for people who use drugs is important from a service delivery perspective and for reducing population health inequities. ⋯ Our findings underscore the need for further research about how best to provide palliative care for people who use drugs during epidemics and pandemics. We suggest four ways that health systems can be better prepared to help alleviate the structural barriers that limit access as well as support the provision of high-quality palliative care during future epidemics and pandemics.
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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
The association between socioeconomic position and the symptoms and concerns of hospital inpatients seen by specialist palliative care: Analysis of routinely collected patient data.
Understanding how socioeconomic position influences the symptoms and concerns of patients approaching the end of life is important for planning more equitable care. Data on this relationship is lacking, particularly for patients with non-cancer conditions. ⋯ Targetting resources to address practical and communication concerns could be a strategy to reduce inequalities. Further research in different hospitals and across different settings using patient centred outcome measures is needed to examine inequalities.