J Palliat Care
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The purpose of this paper is to present data about the level and background characteristics of physicians' training in palliative care in Australia (AU), Belgium (BE), Denmark (DK), Italy (IT), The Netherlands (NL), Sweden (SE) and Switzerland (CH) (n = 16,486). The response rate to an anonymous questionnaire differed between countries (39%-68%). In most countries approximately half of all responding physicians had any formal training in palliative care (median: 3-10 days). ⋯ Physicians in nursing home medicine (only in NL), geriatrics, oncology (not in NL), and general practice had the most training. In all seven countries, physicians with such training discussed options for palliative care and options to forgo life-sustaining treatment more often with their patients than did physicians without. Irrespective of earlier palliative care training, 87%-98% of the physicians wanted extended training.
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Review Case Reports
Future echoes in pediatric palliative care: becoming sensitive to language.
As the specialty of pediatric palliative care emerges and develops, finding language to describe the complexity of "living while dying" is a challenge. Terms such as "life-limiting" and "life-threatening" are commonly used, but may not be sensitive enough to capture the experience of children and their families due to the restrictions and power at play in the history of the words "limit" and "threat". The search for the right words to use when speaking of children who are living while dying takes us to the language of metaphor and poetry that speaks to us in a different way, a way that encompasses not only the suffering, but also the dreams, hopes, and joys of children and families. Our preferred use of language also provides more than factual statements ever can, by speaking to the hearts and souls of health care providers who share precious moments with these families.
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To identify the needs for supportive care/palliative care services of people in Australia with four neurodegenerative disorders--motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease--and the needs of their families; and to determine the extent to which existing supportive and palliative care services models meet these needs. ⋯ This is the first empirical evidence of the needs and services used by these patient groups in Australia, and will form the basis for future developments of palliative and supportive care services for people with these four neurological conditions.
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To examine the association between a multi-item measure of religiousness and major depressive disorder (MDD) in bereaved family caregivers of patients with cancer. ⋯ Family caregivers who reported greater religiousness at baseline had lower rates of depression in the 13-month follow up after their loss. Collaboration with religious support groups or community groups during bereavement could offer an effective mechanism for speeding the process of recovery for some caregivers.