Performance scales are used by clinicians to objectively represent a patient's level of function and have been shown to be important predictors of response to therapy and survival. Four different scales are commonly used in the palliative care…
Congruence between preferred and actual place of death may be an essential component in terminal care. Most patients prefer a home death, but many patients do not die in their preferred location. Specialized (physician, hospice, and palliative) home…
Patients with advanced cancer often experience multiple concurrent symptoms. To explore this symptom clustering and its associated parameters, we prospectively surveyed 427 consecutive patients on admission to the Palliative Care Unit. There were 222…
Excess oral secretions or sialorrhea is a common problem affecting children and adults with neurological disorders, as well as those approaching the end of life because of a variety of underlying illnesses. Systemic anticholinergic medications are…
OBJECTIVE: To clarify the process of end-of-life decision-making in culturally different neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). STUDY DESIGN: Review of medical files of newborns >22 weeks gestation who died in the delivery room (DR) or the NICU…
OBJECTIVE: To describe outcomes and causes of death in children on chronic positive-pressure ventilation via tracheostomy. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective observational cohort analysis of 228 children enrolled in an university-affiliated…
The aim of mindfulness meditation is to develop present-focused, non-judgmental, attention. Therefore, experience in meditation should be associated with less anticipation and negative appraisal of pain. In this study we compared a group of…
In this retrospective cohort study, a clinical and administrative database of children hospitalized at Primary Children's Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2006, was used to identify those with…
A prospective observational study was performed to evaluate whether the plasma concentration of heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) or β-endorphin is related to clinical signs, blood chemistry, or severity of pain of colic. Seventy-seven horses with colic…
BACKGROUND: Palliative oxygen therapy is widely used for treatment of dyspnoea in individuals with life-limiting illness who are ineligible for long-term oxygen therapy. We assessed the effectiveness of oxygen compared with room air delivered by…
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe, progressive disease that affects 1 in 3600-6000 live male births. Although guidelines are available for various aspects of DMD, comprehensive clinical care recommendations do not exist. The US Centers…
OBJECTIVE: A longitudinal pediatric palliative care curriculum was introduced into the pediatric residency program at the University of California, Los Angeles. The present study explores the possible effects of this curriculum on the interns'…
This article urges counseling psychology researchers to recognize and report how missing data are handled, because consumers of research cannot accurately interpret findings without knowing the amount and pattern of missing data or the strategies…
BACKGROUND: Patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer have a substantial symptom burden and may receive aggressive care at the end of life. We examined the effect of introducing palliative care early after diagnosis on patient-reported…
Photovoice is a participatory research methodology in which individuals photograph their everyday realities. The present study used photovoice to understand the impact of cancer on a sample of six young adult survivors of childhood cancer (YACS) and…
A short form of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-SF) is described. A sample of 1351 adults who had completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) in previous studies provided the basis for item selection. The resulting 10-item form…
OBJECTIVES: We compared end-of-life care for patients with and without orders for "comfort measures only" (CMO) and evaluated whether standards for palliative medicine were met., DESIGN: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 40 patients, 20 with…
OBJECTIVE: While research has established that pediatric pain is undertreated, it is unclear who should have primary responsibility for its management. This study asks pediatricians who they believe should treat pain and how pain should be assessed…
CONTEXT: Palliative care programs have the opportunity to intercede and provide supportive care to parents whose families have been impacted by their children's illnesses. By understanding how families are impacted, programs can refine their service…
BACKGROUND: Hospital-based palliative care consultative teams assist with decision-making, symptom management, patient and family support, and discharge planning for those with advanced illness. However, there is evidence to suggest that many…
PURPOSE: In February 2002, the palliative care team was established in Ikeda Municipal Hospital to improve palliative care. We investigated changes in the incidences of side effects related to opioids, and evaluated palliative care team activities.…
OBJECTIVES: Communication about end-of-life decisions is crucial. Although patients with metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) have a median survival time of 3 to 6 months, few data are available concerning the presence of advance directives and…
OBJECTIVE: To explore factors that influence how informal caregivers manage medications as part of caring for hospice patients. METHODS: Semistructured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 23 informal caregivers and 22 hospice providers from 4…
BACKGROUND: No study has so far addressed whether differences do exist in the management of cancer-related pain in patients admitted to oncology and non-oncology settings. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A multicentre cross-sectional study in 48 Italian…
PURPOSE: To perform a systematic review, supplemented by a targeted grey literature scan, for performance measurement and improvement frameworks within and across the health, education and social service systems. The intended outcome was the creation…
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and acute injury in adolescents. METHODS: An analysis of cross-sectional data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) Cycle 3.1 collected by Statistics Canada in 2005 was…
