The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Oct 2018
Providing Palliative Care in the Medical ICU: A Qualitative Study of MICU Physicians' Beliefs and Practices.
With the current and projected shortage of palliative care (PC) specialists, an integrative model of PC will be needed to meet the needs of patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Prior studies of PC interventions suggest that success depends upon meeting the needs of individual institutions or ICUs. ⋯ Developing an integrative model of PC in the ICU ought to take into account both studied interventions shown likely to be effective in the ICU setting and the specific needs and barriers to PC in that unit. This study demonstrates one way that needs and barriers can be identified and provides important findings that might be applicable to other institutions.