International journal of palliative nursing
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Case Reports
Collaborative working in end-of-life care: developing a guide for health and social care professionals.
This article describes a project to develop collaborative working between palliative care nurse specialists and community matrons for patients with a non-cancer diagnosis. Pathways to clarify decision-making in end-of-life care were created as part of the project and were subsequently developed into a guide for use by health or social care professionals caring for any patient, irrespective of diagnosis. ⋯ The project was supported by the Help the Hospices' Care Beyond Cancer programme, funded by the St James's Place Foundation. The programme is designed to identify models of effective, replicable end-of-life care provision for patients with a non-cancer diagnosis, and to widen access to specialist palliative care.
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This article describes the significance of the identification and explicit communication of the different clinical phases in incurable illness trajectories in a hospital setting. The article is part of a qualitative study carried out in a Danish haematology department. The data were obtained through a total of 157 hours of participant observation and informal interviews with patients, families, doctors and nurses and four focus group interviews with doctors and nursing staff. ⋯ The study has identified ten barriers including personal, professional, time-related, cultural and organizational-for an open dialogue between staff, patients and families about illness progression. The quality of palliative care was affected as different clinical phases require different treatment and care strategies. Complex intervention is called for.
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Case Reports
Methylnaltrexone: a subcutaneous treatment for opioid-induced constipation in palliative care patients.
Opioid-induced constipation is common in palliative care and causes considerable distress to patients taking opioids. Opioid-induced constipation can be difficult to manage with conventional laxatives, often requiring invasive rectal interventions. A unique bowel intervention linked specifically to opioid-induced constipation in the form of a subcutaneous injection is now available for the management of opioid-induced constipation. This article will examine all aspects of opioid-induced constipation with particular reference to this new management option, methylnaltrexone bromide (Relistor).
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To adequately measure the attitudes of Flemish palliative care nurses toward euthanasia, and assess the relationship between these attitudes and demographic factors and the (perceived) influence of experience in palliative care on death anxiety. ⋯ Flemish palliative care nurses' attitudes toward euthanasia are nuanced and contextual. By indicating that most euthanasia requests disappear as soon as a patient experiences the benefits of good palliative care, the nurses applied a 'palliative filter' a standard procedure in the case of a euthanasia request.