Articles: palliative-care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Short-term and long-term effects of a psycho-educational group intervention for family caregivers in palliative home care - results from a randomized control trial.
Family caregivers in cancer and palliative care often face heavy responsibilities and feel insufficiently prepared for the situation as caregivers. This study evaluates short-term and long-term effects of a psycho-educational group intervention aiming to increase preparedness for family caregiving in specialized palliative home care. ⋯ The psycho-educational intervention has the potential to be used by health professionals to improve preparedness for caregiving among family caregivers in palliative care both in short and long terms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Editorial Multicenter Study
Respiratory Therapists' Experiences and Attitudes Regarding Terminal Extubations and End-of-Life Care.
Respiratory therapists (RTs) routinely care for patients with life-limiting illnesses and in some hospitals are responsible for terminal extubations. Data on how such experiences affect RTs are scarce. The objective of this work was to survey RTs at 2 academic medical centers about their experiences caring for patients with terminal extubations. ⋯ RTs are rarely involved in end-of-life discussions despite a desire to be, and they experience situations that generate discomfort. There is demand for more formal RT training around care for terminal patients. Clinical protocols that involve RTs in meetings before ventilator withdrawal should be considered.
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Palliative medicine · Jul 2016
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in palliative care: A prospective study of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus prevalence in a hospital-based palliative care unit.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a common organism in hospitals worldwide and is associated with morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the prevalence in palliative care patients. Furthermore, there is no standardized screening protocol or treatment for patients for whom therapy concentrates on symptom control. ⋯ Our study suggests that the prevalence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among patients in an in-hospital palliative care unit is much higher than in other patient populations.
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Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) · Jul 2016
Coping strategies and anxiety in caregivers of palliative cancer patients.
The study purpose was to determine the relationship between coping strategies and anxiety in primary family caregivers of palliative cancer patients. A cross-sectional study was carried out in a Pain and Palliative Care Unit in Spain. Data were collected through interviews from fifty primary family caregivers of palliative cancer patients. ⋯ Thus, emotion-focused coping is negatively associated with anxiety, while dysfunctional coping is positively associated with anxiety. Problem-focused coping is not related to anxiety. Assessment of coping should be done in a systematic way in caregivers of palliative cancer patients.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jul 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialDistress Reduction for Palliative Care Patients and Families With 5-Minute Mindful Breathing: A Pilot Study.
A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of 5-minute mindful breathing in distress reduction. Twenty palliative care patients and family caregivers with a distress score ≥4 measured by the Distress Thermometer were recruited and randomly assigned to mindful breathing or "listening" (being listened to). ⋯ A significantly larger reduction in the distress score was observed in the mindful breathing group (Mann-Whitney U test: U = 8.0, n1 = n2 = 10, mean rank1 = 6.30, mean rank2 = 14.70, z = -3.208, P = .001). The 5-minute mindful breathing could be useful in distress reduction in palliative care.