Journal of palliative medicine
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To adapt the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) to Polish and to evaluate its psychometric properties (validity and reliability) in patients with cancer pain and to use BPI-SF for pain assessment and monitoring of pain treatment. ⋯ The Polish version of BPI-SF is a valid and reliable tool recommended for pain assessment and monitoring of pain treatment in patients with cancer.
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Medical and technological progress allows newborns, children and teenagers suffering from life-limiting and life-threatening illness to survive, but not necessarily to recover. Data on the number of children eligible for pediatric palliative care [PPC] and their needs are useful for health care planning. The main aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence and the course of children eligible for pediatric palliative care in Italy. ⋯ Our data agree with other international surveys on the prevalence and typology of pediatric patients. The HDR could be useful for the estimation of the cases eligible for pediatric palliative care and for monitoring of deaths in hospital.
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Multicenter Study
"If God wanted me yesterday, I wouldn't be here today": religious and spiritual themes in patients' experiences of advanced cancer.
This study sought to inductively derive core themes of religion and/or spirituality (R/S) active in patients' experiences of advanced cancer to inform the development of spiritual care interventions in the terminally ill cancer setting. ⋯ R/S plays a variety of important and inter-related roles for most advanced cancer patients. Future research is needed to determine how spiritual care can incorporate these five themes and address R/S concerns.
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Inpatient palliative care teams' (PCT) contribution to improved quality of life and patient satisfaction as well as decreased utilization and costs has been well established. Yet few studies have examined the specific effect of an inpatient PCT on discharge disposition, despite evidence of an association between hospice enrollment, decreased rehospitalization, and improved resource utilization. ⋯ Patients receiving an inpatient PCT consultation are more likely to receive follow-up services upon discharge from the hospital. These services likely contribute to better quality of care and financial benefits, and warrants further study, especially considering the current focus on health care efficiency and quality.