Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2024
ReviewApplied patient-level palliative care interventions designed to meet the needs of sexual and gender minorities: A scoping review and qualitative content analysis of how to support sexual and gender minorities at end of life.
Sexual and gender minorities experience considerable health disparities across the life span. End of life presents unique challenges for this population, further exacerbating existing disparities. ⋯ This review responds to a need to improve palliative care delivery for sexual and gender minorities. Recommendations derived from these interventions, including how to center and advocate for sexual and gender minorities at end of life, can be applied by any interdisciplinary palliative care provider.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2024
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe impact of regular, low-dose, sustained-release morphine for chronic breathlessness on caregiver burden: An exploratory analysis of the BEAMS trial.
Chronic breathlessness adversely impacts people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and their caregivers (family and friends), who may, in turn, experience significant burden due to their caregiving role. Sustained-release morphine may reduce chronic breathlessness in some patients, which may have an impact on caregivers' perceived burden. ⋯ Caregivers reported high levels of caregiver burden, but patients' response to treatment in terms of their symptom and function may influence change in caregiver burden over a three-week period.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2024
ReviewMethodological challenges and potential solutions for economic evaluations of palliative and end-of-life care: A systematic review.
Given the increasing demand for palliative and end-of-life care, along with the introduction of costly new treatments, there is a pressing need for robust evidence on value. However, comprehensive guidance is missing on methods for conducting economic evaluations in this field. ⋯ Our review offers a comprehensive context-specific overview of methodological considerations for economic evaluations of palliative and end-of-life care. It also identifies the main knowledge gaps to help prioritise future methodological research specifically for this field.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2024
Hope and illness expectations: A cross-sectional study in patients with advanced cancer.
The fear of taking away hope hinders clinicians' willingness to share serious news with patients with advanced disease. Unrealistic illness expectations, on the other hand, can complicate decision making and end-of-life care outcomes. Exploration of the association between hope and illness expectations can support clinicians in better communication with their patients. ⋯ Our results suggest that hope can be sustained while holding both realistic and unrealistic illness expectations. Communication about serious news should focus on clarifying the expectations as well as supporting people's hopes.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2024
Multicenter StudyCOVID-19 in pediatric palliative care patients: Multicenter, retrospective cohort study.
Studies have shown the risk factors for COVID-19 severity in children, including comorbidities, but information on the infection course in children with life-limiting conditions is sparse. ⋯ In the study population initial presentation of COVID-19 was predominantly a mild; however, the small sample size precluded definitive conclusions. For children under palliative care, we should identify if they have an advance care plan for COVID-19, such as desires for intensive care support. Further studies are needed to define the short and long-term effects of COVID-19 in children with life-limiting conditions.