Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2024
ReviewPosttraumatic growth in palliative care settings: A scoping review of prevalence, characteristics and interventions.
Posttraumatic growth refers to positive psychological change following trauma. However, there is a need to better understand the experience of posttraumatic growth in the palliative care setting as well as the availability and efficacy of interventions that target this phenomenon. ⋯ Posttraumatic growth is an emerging concept in palliative care where although the number of studies is small, early indications suggest that interventions fostering posttraumatic growth may contribute to improvements in psychological wellbeing in people receiving palliative care.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2023
ReviewWhat outcomes do studies use to measure the impact of prognostication on people with advanced cancer? Findings from a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies.
Studies evaluating the impact of prognostication in advanced cancer patients vary in the outcomes they measure, and there is a lack of consensus about which outcomes are most important. ⋯ Outcome reporting and measurement varied markedly across the studies. A standardised approach to outcome reporting in studies of prognosis is necessary to enhance data synthesis, improve clinical practice and better align with stakeholders' priorities.
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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 · Oct 2023
ReviewThe spiritual dimension of parenting a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition: A mixed-methods systematic review.
Spirituality refers to the dynamic dimension of human life that relates to the way that persons experience meaning, purpose, and transcendence. The complex task of parenting a child with a life-limiting condition may raise existential questions, which are easily overlooked by healthcare professionals. ⋯ Although studies vary in defining spirituality, reports on spirituality focus on how parents connect to their faith, others, and themselves as parents. Healthcare professionals can support parents by paying attention to the spiritual process parents are going through. More research is needed into how healthcare professionals can support parents of seriously ill children in this process.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2024
ReviewPatient and families' perspectives on telepalliative care: A systematic integrative review.
Telepalliative care is increasingly used in palliative care, but has yet to be examined from a patient and family perspective. A synthesis of evidence may provide knowledge on how to plan and provide telepalliative care that caters specifically to patients and families' needs. ⋯ Enhanced access to care and convenience, as attributes of telepalliative care, are highly valued. Patients and families have varying needs during the illness trajectory that may be addressed by early integration of telepalliative care based on models of care that are flexible and combine synchronous and asynchronous solutions. Further research should examine telepalliative care in a post-pandemic context, use of models of care and identify meaningful outcome measures from patient and family perspectives for evaluation of telepalliative care.