Browse Items (66 total)

For the first time since he was born, we looked at our son as a baby who had withstood endless medical interventions. Rather than taking each new diagnosis in stride, we stopped to reflect. [...]

OBJECTIVE: To explore recipients' perspectives on the range and origins of their emotional experiences during their 'bad news' consultations., METHODS: Participants were four bereaved families of children who had changed from active treatment to…

BACKGROUND: Advance care planning and goals of care discussions involve the exploration of what is most important to a person, including their values and beliefs in preparation for health-care decision-making. Advance care planning conversations…

OBJECTIVE: Each year, more than 11,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs), aged 15-34, die from cancer and other life-threatening conditions. In order to facilitate the transition from curative to end-of-life (EoL) care, it is recommended that EoL…

Managing end-of-life care (EoL) is always emotionally taxing. Honest discussions about prognosis and EoL decision-making are often delayed due to questions about the legal competence of adolescents and young adults (AYA) to make decisions for…

BACKGROUND: A growing body of research indicates that physicians suffer high levels of stress, depression and burnout. Related literature has found that physician stress can negatively impact patient care. This study builds upon previous research…

Although clinicians may value respecting a patient's or surrogate's autonomy in decision-making, it is not always clear how to proceed in clinical practice. The confusion results, in part, from which conception of autonomy is used to guide ethical…

Clinicians are sometimes reluctant to discuss prognosis with parents of children with life-threatening illness, usually because they worry about the emotional impact of this information. However, parents often want this prognostic information because…

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the educational value of a documentary film about family caregiving for patients with brain tumors. The method used in this study is a pre-post survey among neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologist, and other…

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether adult specialists comply with the basic principles for a successful transition of adolescents with chronic disorders, and to determine whether the characteristics of the adult specialists have an influence on applying…

BACKGROUND: Medical oncologists often must deliver bad news. The authors were interested in the extent of formal training in delivering bad news in hematology/oncology fellowships in the United States. METHODS: An e-mail survey was sent to all…

In trying to improve clinician communication skills, we have often heard clinicians at every level admonished to "use silence," as if refraining from talking will improve dialogue. Yet we have also noticed that this "just do it," behavior-focused…

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that predict good adherence to health regimens by adolescents with diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus). METHODS: Altogether, 300 individuals aged 13-17 years were randomly…

PURPOSE: Physicians sometimes selectively convey prognostic information to support patients' hopes. However, the relationship between prognostic disclosure and hope is not known. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We surveyed 194 parents of children with cancer…

PURPOSE: Many seriously ill patients with cancer do not discuss prognosis or advance directives (ADs), which may lead to inappropriate and/or unwanted aggressive care at the end of life. Ten years ago, patients with cancer said they would not like to…

OBJECTIVES: More than 500,000 adolescents with special health care needs age into adulthood each year in the United States, and there is growing recognition of the need for support of their transition to adult-oriented health care. Because of…

PURPOSE: This paper presents the components of a pediatric palliative care demonstration program implemented in Seattle during the period 1999-2001. It reports findings from the evaluation of quality of life and family satisfaction among enrolled…

The cyclical nature of chronic illness requires that children with inflammatory bowel disease be transitioned to the adult medical system with as much continuity of care as possible. Transition from pediatric to adult medical care continues to…

PURPOSE: To ascertain parents' and physicians' assessments of quality of end-of-life care for children with cancer and to determine factors associated with high-quality care as perceived by parents and physicians. METHODS: A survey was conducted…

Approximately 25% of children with cancer die of their disease. Early in the course of a patient's illness, it is often impossible to determine whether the disease will be cured with cancer-directed treatment. When potentially curative therapy is no…

In 1997, the Oregon Death with Dignity Act was enacted, allowing physicians to prescribe lethal dosages of medication to competent, terminally ill patients who request them. To improve our understanding of physicians' reactions to requests for…

OBJECTIVES: To examine young people's and parents' accounts of communication about cancer in childhood. DESIGN: Semistructured interviews analysed using the constant comparative method. SETTING: Paediatric oncology unit. PARTICIPANTS: 13 families,…

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency, types, sources, and predictors of conflict surrounding the care of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients with prolonged stay. SETTING: A tertiary care, university-affiliated PICU in Boston. PARTICIPANTS:…

OBJECTIVES: Patients' views of physician skill in providing end-of-life care may vary across different diseases, and understanding these differences will help physicians improve the quality of care they provide for patients at the end of life. The…

OBJECTIVE: This paper identifies key features associated with high-quality educational materials for end-of-life curriculum. METHODS: The End of Life Physician Education Resource Center (EPERC), located on the Internet at provides a clearinghouse for…

Predicting survival and disclosing the prediction to patients with advanced disease, particularly cancer, is among the most difficult tasks that physicians face. With the de-emphasis of prognosis in favor of diagnosis and therapeutics in the medical…

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