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Journal of the American College of... Oct 2017Patients with heart failure (HF) and their families experience stress and suffering from a variety of sources over the course of the HF experience. Palliative care is an... (Review)
Review
Patients with heart failure (HF) and their families experience stress and suffering from a variety of sources over the course of the HF experience. Palliative care is an interdisciplinary service and an overall approach to care that improves quality of life and alleviates suffering for those living with serious illness, regardless of prognosis. In this review, we synthesize the evidence from randomized clinical trials of palliative care interventions in HF. While the evidence base for palliative care in HF is promising, it is still in its infancy and requires additional high-quality, methodologically sound studies to clearly elucidate the role of palliative care for patients and families living with the burdens of HF. Yet, an increase in attention to primary palliative care (e.g., basic physical and emotional symptom management, advance care planning), provided by primary care and cardiology clinicians, may be a vehicle to address unmet palliative needs earlier and throughout the illness course.
Topics: Disease Progression; Family Health; Heart Failure; Humans; Palliative Care; Patient Care Team; Patient Comfort; Quality of Life; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Severity of Illness Index
PubMed: 28982506
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2017.08.036 -
Anesthesia and Analgesia Jun 2020Patients with frailty experience substantial physical and emotional distress related to their condition and face increased morbidity and mortality compared with their... (Review)
Review
Patients with frailty experience substantial physical and emotional distress related to their condition and face increased morbidity and mortality compared with their nonfrail peers. Palliative care is an interdisciplinary medical specialty focused on improving quality of life for patients with serious illness, including those with frailty, throughout their disease course. Anesthesiology providers will frequently encounter frail patients in the perioperative period and in the intensive care unit (ICU) and can contribute to improving the quality of life for these patients through the provision of palliative care. We highlight the opportunities to incorporate primary palliative care, including basic symptom management and straightforward goals-of-care discussions, provided by the primary clinicians, and when necessary, timely consultation by a specialty palliative care team to assist with complex symptom management and goals-of-care discussions in the face of team and/or family conflict. In this review, we apply the principles of palliative care to patients with frailty and synthesize the evidence regarding methods to integrate palliative care into the perioperative and ICU settings.
Topics: Aged; Anesthesiology; Critical Care; Frail Elderly; Frailty; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Interdisciplinary Communication; Palliative Care; Patient Care Team; Perioperative Period; Psychological Distress; Quality of Life; Terminal Care; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 32384340
DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000004763 -
The Journal of Head Trauma... 2019To characterize the indications, timing, barriers, and perceived value of rehabilitation currently provided for individuals with moderate or severe traumatic brain...
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the indications, timing, barriers, and perceived value of rehabilitation currently provided for individuals with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) based on the perspectives of providers who work in the ICU setting.
PARTICIPANTS
Members (n = 66) of the Neurocritical Care Society and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
DESIGN
An anonymous electronic survey of the timing of rehabilitation for patients with TBI in the ICU.
MAIN MEASURES
Questions asked about type and timing of rehabilitation in the ICU, extent of family involvement, participation of physiatrists in patient care, and barriers to early rehabilitation.
RESULTS
Sixty-six respondents who reported caring for patients with TBI in the ICU completed the survey; 98% recommended rehabilitative care while patients were in the ICU. Common reasons to wait for the initiation of physical therapy and occupational therapy were normalization of intracranial pressure (86% and 89%) and hemodynamic stability (66% and 69%).
CONCLUSIONS
The majority of providers caring for patients with TBI in the ICU support rehabilitation efforts, typically after a patient is extubated, intracranial pressure has normalized, and the patient is hemodynamically stable. Our findings describe current practice; future studies can be designed to determine optimal timing, intensity, and patient selection for early rehabilitation.
Topics: Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Clinical Decision-Making; Hemodynamics; Hospitalization; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Intracranial Pressure; Occupational Therapy; Patient Care Team; Physical Therapy Modalities; Speech Therapy; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time-to-Treatment
PubMed: 30829824
DOI: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000477 -
Annals of Palliative Medicine Feb 2019The aims of this article are twofold: (I) provide a general overview of perinatal bereavement services throughout the healthcare system and (II) identify future... (Review)
Review
The aims of this article are twofold: (I) provide a general overview of perinatal bereavement services throughout the healthcare system and (II) identify future opportunities to improve bereavement services, including providing resources for the creation of standardized care guidelines, policies and educational opportunities across the healthcare system. Commentary is provided related to maternal child services, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), prenatal clinics, operating room (OR) and perioperative services, emergency department (ED), ethics, chaplaincy and palliative care services. An integrated system of care increases quality and safety and contributes to patient satisfaction. Physicians, nurses and administrators must encourage pregnancy loss support so that regardless of where in the facility the contact is made, when in the pregnancy the loss occurs, or whatever the conditions contributing to the pregnancy ending, trained caregivers are there to provide bereavement support for the family and palliative symptom management to the fetus born with a life limiting condition. The goal for respectful caregiving throughout an entire hospital system is achievable and critically important.
Topics: Abortion, Spontaneous; Ambulatory Care; Bereavement; Chaplaincy Service, Hospital; Delivery of Health Care, Integrated; Ethics Committees, Clinical; Fetal Death; Hospice Care; Humans; Intensive Care, Neonatal; Palliative Care; Patient Care Team; Perinatal Care; Prenatal Care; Professional-Family Relations; Social Support
PubMed: 30525773
DOI: 10.21037/apm.2018.11.03 -
BMC Palliative Care Jul 2018This systematic review aimed to identify the unmet care needs and their associated variables in patients with advanced cancer and informal caregivers, alongside... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
This systematic review aimed to identify the unmet care needs and their associated variables in patients with advanced cancer and informal caregivers, alongside summarizing the tools used for needs assessment.
METHODS
Ten electronic databases were searched systematically from inception of each database to December 2016 to determine eligible studies. Studies that considered the unmet care needs of either adult patients with advanced cancer or informal caregivers, regardless of the study design, were included. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was utilized for quality appraisal of the included studies. Content analysis was used to identify unmet needs, and descriptive analysis was adopted to synthesize other outcomes.
RESULTS
Fifty studies were included, and their methodological quality was generally robust. The prevalence of unmet needs varied across studies. Twelve unmet need domains were identified in patients with advanced cancer, and seven among informal caregivers. The three most commonly reported domains for patients were psychological, physical, and healthcare service and information. The most prominent unmet items of these domains were emotional support (10.1-84.4%), fatigue (18-76.3%), and "being informed about benefits and side-effects of treatment" (4-66.7%). The most commonly identified unmet needs for informal caregivers were information needs, including illness and treatment information (26-100%) and care-related information (21-100%). Unmet needs of patients with advanced cancer were associated with their physical symptoms, anxiety, and quality of life. The most commonly used instruments for needs assessment among patients with advanced cancer were the Supportive Care Needs Survey (N = 8) and Problems and Needs in Palliative Care questionnaire (N = 5). The majority of the included studies investigated unmet needs from the perspectives of either patients or caregivers with a cross-sectional study design using single time-point assessments. Moreover, significant heterogeneity, including differences in study contexts, assessment methods, instruments for measurement, need classifications, and reporting methods, were identified across studies.
CONCLUSION
Both advanced cancer patients and informal caregivers reported a wide range of context-bound unmet needs. Examining their unmet needs on the basis of viewing patients and their informal caregivers as a whole unit will be highly optimal. Unmet care needs should be comprehensively evaluated from the perspectives of all stakeholders and interpreted by using rigorously designed mixed methods research and longitudinal studies within a given context.
Topics: Caregivers; Humans; Needs Assessment; Neoplasms; Patient Care; Prevalence; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 30037346
DOI: 10.1186/s12904-018-0346-9 -
Annals of Palliative Medicine Feb 2019Palliative care offers patients with a serious illness and their families access to services that can improve quality of life, mood, and symptoms. However, the term... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Palliative care offers patients with a serious illness and their families access to services that can improve quality of life, mood, and symptoms. However, the term palliative care is often confused with end of life or hospice services limiting its application to persons with chronic illnesses who might benefit. Non-hospice palliative care is a term that is emerging to more accurately reflect the broader care model that palliative care represents. The aim of this review was to identify the characteristics of published nonhospice palliative care interventions. We derived our sample predominantly from a recently published systematic review and meta-analysis and selected studies published since the review. Inclusion criteria were: self-described palliative care intervention studies using randomized designs for participants with lifelimiting illnesses aged 18 years or older. These 38 studies fell into 3 broad categories: primary, specialty, and hybrid models. Common challenges among these models include limited education of generalists, limited reimbursement, and limited access in certain areas. However, increasing palliative care usage has also been associated with increased hospice use and appropriate timing of referrals.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Ambulatory Care; Facilities and Services Utilization; Home Care Services; Hospice Care; Hospitalization; Humans; Middle Aged; Models, Organizational; Palliative Care; Patient Care Team; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Young Adult
PubMed: 29860852
DOI: 10.21037/apm.2018.03.11 -
The Medical Clinics of North America May 2021Comprehensive patient care requires an integrated approach that often includes different specialties. Of these specialties, Ophthalmology stands out with its variable... (Review)
Review
Comprehensive patient care requires an integrated approach that often includes different specialties. Of these specialties, Ophthalmology stands out with its variable pathologic conditions, unique tools, and special examination techniques, which are not part of the standard training of internal medicine or other specialties. The authors review prior studies focused on inpatient ophthalmology consultations, common reasons for inpatient ophthalmology consultation, and the recommended approach to the most common ocular complaints that could present to the inpatient provider. They also shed light on the basic ocular history and eye examination that should be obtained before requesting an ophthalmic evaluation.
Topics: Eye Diseases; Hospitalization; Humans; Ophthalmology; Patient Care; Referral and Consultation
PubMed: 33926647
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcna.2021.02.006 -
Ugeskrift For Laeger Apr 2018
Topics: Humans; Palliative Care; Patient Care Team; Rehabilitation
PubMed: 29690988
DOI: No ID Found -
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and... Apr 2022
Topics: Humans; Patient Care; Time Factors
PubMed: 35193808
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcjq.2022.02.002 -
American Journal of Pharmaceutical... Feb 2018The value of the arts and humanities in becoming an "educated" pharmacist is reviewed in this commentary. The term "patient care literacy" is defined as becoming a more... (Review)
Review
The value of the arts and humanities in becoming an "educated" pharmacist is reviewed in this commentary. The term "patient care literacy" is defined as becoming a more humane pharmacist. This implies not only using heads but HARTSS (humanities, arts and social sciences) for developing the necessary skills. A conceptual framework for curricular reform that focuses on using the arts and humanities is proposed for advancing patient care literacy. Methods for enhancing use of arts and humanities for developing pharmacy graduates is specifically proposed. The need for more empiric research to demonstrate the value of the arts and humanities in developing a patient care literate professional is highlighted.
Topics: Health Literacy; Humans; Literacy; Patient Advocacy; Patient Care; Pharmacists; Professional-Patient Relations
PubMed: 29491507
DOI: 10.5688/ajpe6884