Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jan 1997
Validity of the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire in the palliative care setting: a multi-centre Canadian study demonstrating the importance of the existential domain.
This study was carried out in eight palliative care services in four Canadian cities. A revised version of The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL) is compared to a single-item scale measuring overall quality of life (SIS), and the self-administered version of the Spitzer Quality of Life Index (SA-QLI), to obtain evidence of validity. ⋯ The MQOL subscales, constructed on the basis of principal components analysis, demonstrate acceptable internal consistency reliability. The MQOL measures reflecting physical well-being and existential well-being are important for predicting SIS.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialNon-pharmacological intervention for breathlessness in lung cancer.
To evaluate the effect of non-pharmacological intervention for breathlessness in lung cancer on breathlessness ratings and patient functioning. ⋯ Lung cancer patients suffering from breathlessness benefited from this rehabilitative approach to breathlessness management and strategies employed in this pilot study warrant further multicentre research. Macmillan nurses and palliative care teams are recommended to explore the potential of adopting similar approaches.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 1996
How do members of an interprofessional clinical team adjust to hospice care?
A study was carried out involving interviewing and facilitating a workshop for members of an interprofessional hospice team: nurses, doctors, a physiotherapist, a chaplain and a counsellor. Its aim was to explore how the members adjusted to working with people who are dying and people who are bereaved and whether a developmental model of adjustment from American hospital social work practice could be applied to British interprofessional hospice care. It was found that all participants experienced adjustment to hospice care as a continuous rather than a developmental process with an end point.
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The question of whether a coherent tradition in research and research methods (or paradigm) exists in palliative care is explored in this paper through an examination of the discussion and debate surrounding palliative care; attempts at achieving consensus for research through priority setting exercises; and a critical review of published research in palliative care accessed through a systematic review of studies. The findings of this systematic review of 384 published studies are reported. ⋯ More creativity in palliative care research is needed, and the future of palliative care research needs to be determined strategically. A model on which such a strategy might be based is presented.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 1996
Comparative StudyJob stress and satisfaction among palliative physicians.
A national questionnaire-based survey has found that palliative physicians report lower levels of burnout and similar levels of psychiatric morbidity than those reported by consultants in other specialties. To try to explain these findings, this study compared the sources of job stress and satisfaction reported by consultant palliative physicians with those reported by consultants working in four other specialties: surgery, gastroenterology, radiology and oncology. Stressful and satisfying aspects of work were assessed using questionnaires designed specifically for the study. ⋯ Thirty-five percent of palliative physicians felt insufficiently trained in communication skills and 81% felt insufficiently trained in management skills. Burnout was more prevalent among consultants who felt insufficiently trained in communication and management skills than among those who felt sufficiently trained. It is important therefore that effective training in communication and management skills are provided and that, at the very least, existing levels of resourcing and management practices within palliative medicine are maintained in order that physicians working in the specialty are able to provide care to dying patients without prejudicing their own mental health.