Journal of palliative medicine
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Survey research indicates that decisions about the provision and limitation of treatment near the end of life in patients with cancer vary considerably. ⋯ The identified variables raise ethical issues with regards to possible influence of value judgments underlying decisions about limitation of treatment in end-of-life care.
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Cancer caregivers are key stakeholders in the final weeks of life and in bereavement. Research has highlighted end-of-life (EOL) factors important to caregivers, as well as factors contributing to caregiver mental health and bereavement outcomes. There has been limited data on factors predicting caregiver perceptions of quality of EOL care. ⋯ Findings suggest that place of death and hospice length of stay best predict bereaved caregiver evaluations of quality of EOL care. These findings equip health care providers with modifiable targets to improve caregivers' experience of EOL care and subsequent bereavement.
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Interventions to improve pediatric trainee education in palliative care have been limited by a lack of reliable and valid tools for measuring effectiveness. ⋯ This questionnaire is capable of assessing self-efficacy and fellow-perceived adequacy of their prior palliative care training. We recommend use of this tool for fellowship programs seeking to evaluate fellow education in palliative care, or for research studies assessing the effectiveness of a palliative care educational intervention.