Finding peace in clinical settings: A narrative review of concept and practice

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 490-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Austin ◽  
Roderick MacLeod
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Spiritual Well Being

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this review was to investigate and review the concept of “peace” and the role it plays in the spiritual well-being and care of people with a chronic or terminal illness. Our objectives were, first, to examine the importance of peace in palliative care as a measure of acceptance and in chronic illness settings as a predictor of improved survival. Second, we explored the dimensions of peace and their relationships with spiritual well-being. We further examined how the constructs of peace are assessed both within valid spiritual well-being measures and as individual items related solely to peace. Finally, we examined therapies aimed at promoting peace and emotional well-being in palliative and chronic illness settings. Despite much being written about different constructs of peace and the positive effects of being at peace during times of illness, the effects of therapies on the feeling of peace are not well-studied.

scholarly journals Rationale and design of the EPCHF trial: the early palliative care in heart failure trial (EPCHF)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Ulrich Becher ◽  
Mahmoud Balata ◽  
Michaela Hesse ◽  
Fabian Draht ◽  
Christian Zachoval ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
Functional Assessment ◽  
Symptom Relief ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Palliative Care ◽  
Heart Failure Trial ◽  
Chronic Illness Therapy ◽  
Spiritual Well Being

AbstractThe progressive nature of heart failure (HF) coupled with high mortality and poor quality-of-life (QoL) mandates greater attention to palliative care (PC) as a routine component of HF management. Limited evidence exists from randomized controlled trials supporting the use of interdisciplinary palliative care in the progressive course of HF. The early palliative care in heart failure trial (EPCHF) is a prospective, controlled, nonblinded, multicenter study of an interdisciplinary palliative care intervention in 200 patients with symptomatic HF characterized by NYHA ≥ 2. The 12-month EPCHF intervention includes monthly consultations by a palliative care team focusing on physical and psychosocial symptom relief, attention to spiritual concerns and advance care planning. The primary endpoint is evaluated by health-related QoL questionnaires after 12 months of treatment. First the functional assessment of chronic illness therapy palliative care (FACIT-Pal) score evaluating QoL living with a chronic disease and second the Kansas City cardiomyopathy questionnaire (KCCQ) measuring QoL living with heart failure will be determined. Secondary endpoints are changes in anxiety/depression (HADS), symptom burden score (MIDOS), spiritual well-being functional assessment of chronic illness therapy spiritual well-being scale (FACIT-Sp), medical resource and cost assessment. EPCHF will help evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of palliative care in symptomatic HF using a patient-centered outcome as well as clinical and economic endpoints. EPCHF is funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF, 01GY17).

The effectiveness of hope-fostering interventions in palliative care: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 026921632199472
Author(s):  
Natalia Salamanca-Balen ◽  
Thomas V Merluzzi ◽  
Man Chen
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Symptom Burden ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Medium Effect ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Quasi Experimental

Background: The concept of hope is an important theme in chronic illness and palliative care and has been associated with increased psycho-spiritual well-being and quality of life. Psycho-spiritual interventions have been described in this population, but no systematic review of hope-enhancing interventions or hopelessness-reducing interventions has been conducted for persons with palliative care diseases. Aim: To describe and assess the effectiveness of interventions in palliative care that measure hope and/or hopelessness as an outcome. Design: This systematic review and meta-analysis was pre-registered (Prospero ID: CRD42019119956). Data sources: Electronic databases, journals, and references were searched. We used the Cochrane criteria to assess the risk of bias within studies. Results: Thirty-five studies (24 randomized controlled trials, 5 quasi-experimental, 6 pre-post studies) involving a total of 3296 palliative care patients were included. Compared with usual/standard cancer care alone, interventions significantly increased hope levels at a medium effect size ( g = 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.28–0.93) but did not significantly reduce hopelessness ( g = −0.08, 95% CI = −0.18 to 0.02). It was found that interventions significantly increase spirituality ( g = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.02–1.37) and decrease depression ( g = −0.29, 95% CI = −0.51 to −0.07), but had no significant effect over anxiety, quality of life, and symptom burden. Overall, quality of evidence across the included studies was rated as low. Conclusions: Evidence suggests that interventions can be effective in increasing hope in palliative care patients.

scholarly journals A Novel Narrative E-Writing Intervention (NeW-I) for Parents of Children with Chronic Life-Threatening Illnesses: Protocol for an Open-Label Randomized Controlled Trial

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Hau Yan Ho ◽  
Oindrila Dutta ◽  
Geraldine Tan-Ho ◽  
Toh Hsiang Benny Tan ◽  
Casuarine Low Xinyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Writing Intervention ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Life Threatening Illness ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Life Threatening

Abstract Background: Conventionally, psycho-socio-spiritual interventions for parents of children with chronic life-threatening illness begin post child loss. Pre-loss interventions addressing anticipatory grief can improve holistic well-being and grief outcomes among family caregivers of dying patients. Globally, palliative care strives to holistically support patients and their caregivers at the end-of-life. However, inadequacies exist both globally and in Singapore in providing culturally sensitive psycho-socio-spiritual support to parents whose children need pediatric palliative services. Aim: A novel evidence-based Narrative e-Writing Intervention (NeW-I) is developed to address this gap. NeW-I is a strength-focused, meaning-oriented and therapist-facilitated mobile app and web-based counseling platform that aims to enhance quality of life, spiritual well-being, hope and perceived social support, and reduce depressive symptoms, caregiver burden and risk of complicated grief among parents facing their child’s chronic life-threatening illness. Methods: The design of NeW-I is informed by an international systematic review and a Singapore-based qualitative inquiry on the lived experience of bereaved parents of children with chronic life-threatening illness. The online NeW-I platform and the relative anonymity it offers to participants is sensitive to the unique cultural needs of Asian family caregivers who are uncomfortable with emotional expression even during times of loss and separation. Together with four local pediatric palliative care providers, NeW-I is implemented in Singapore as an open-label pilot randomized controlled trial with 72 parents. Potential effectiveness of NeW-I and accessibility and feasibility of implementing and delivering the intervention are assessed. Discussion: NeW-I aspires to improve psycho-socio-spiritual well-being of parents facing their child’s chronic life-threatening illness through a structured cyber-counseling platform, thereby enhancing holistic pediatric palliative care and parental bereavement support services. Findings from this pilot study will inform the development of a standardized NeW-I protocol and further research to evaluate the efficacy of NeW-I in Singapore and in other Asian communities around the world.

scholarly journals Investigation Of Spiritual Well-Being Palliative Care Of Patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 496-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadime Çinar*, Turgay Sirin
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Healing Process ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Term Treatment ◽  
Long Term Treatment ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Individual

Background: One of the indispensable aspects of the philosophy of holistic care,and negative situations such as life-threatening illness, spiritual well-being, which isdefined as the search for a relationship with a divine soul, is a requirement that mustbe met in order to maintain the existence of the individual. The patient's need forsocial and spiritual well-being increases even more in cases of long-term treatment,such as cancer, that reduce the quality of life. Determining and meeting the spiritualneeds of the individual in the difficult times of the crisis can be realized bydetermining the spiritual well-being levels of the individuals and by providing theindividual spiritual care. This study was conducted to determine the level of thespiritual well-being of palliative care patients diagnosed with cancer. Methods: Thisis a descriptive study. The population of the study consisted of 124 patientsdiagnosed with cancer who were hospitalized in the palliative unit between Januaryand August 2018 and were treated in two state hospitals operating on the Europeanside of Istanbul. The sample consisted of 111 people with voluntary participationand communication. Personal Information Form and Spiritual Well-being Scalewere used to collect data. Data were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance (one-way anova) and significance (t-test) of the difference between the two means.Results: The total score averages from the spiritual good scale of individualsparticipating in the Study were determined to be good with x = 4,15. In terms ofthe level of education of Scale scores, only "Anomi" is significantly differentiatedbetween groups of age, with a total score of the scale, In the sub-dimension oftranscendity and the subdimension of "Harmony with Nature" according to thevariable metastasis (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Spiritual Well-being has a positive effecton the healing process of individuals with impaired health. It helps individuals whohave a crisis in life threatening diseases such as Cancer to cope with this crisis and toprovide spiritual well-being in the sense of life. In This process, spiritual careinitiatives by healthcare professionals can be transformed into a part of the healingprocess and the spiritual goodness of the individual can be increased. Furtherresearch in This area is projected to contribute to the richening of the relevantliterature in Turkey.Key words: Spiritual, spiritual well-being, palliative care, palliative care unit

Music Therapy with Adults Diagnosed with Cancer and Their Families

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare O'Callaghan ◽  
Lucanne Magill
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Functional Restoration ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Music Therapists ◽  
Therapy Assessment ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
Song Writing

This chapter describes music therapy in cancer care in Western and Asian countries. Detailed descriptions of cancer prevalence, mortality rates, histological classifications, treatments, and biopsychosocial effects are provided. When affected by cancer, music therapy can offer support, enable symptom alleviation, promote endurance and spiritual well-being, and assist in functional restoration and quality of life improvement. An evolving music therapy assessment procedure in oncology is outlined as well as common music therapy methods used in inpatient and outpatient settings, and to promote community ward-based care. Music therapists can: Replay music from the patients’ and families’ lives; help them to explore new musical experiences, such as improvisation, song writing, chanting and toning; and offer music relaxation and supportive or guided imagery experiences. Research has demonstrated music therapy’s positive effects on patients, their families, and staff care givers, reinforcing its important and meaningful role in multidisciplinary oncology care.

scholarly journals A mixed-methods pilot study of ‘LIFEView’ audiovisual technology: Virtual travel to support well-being and quality of life in palliative and end-of-life care patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 954-965
Author(s):  
Monisha Kabir ◽  
Jill L Rice ◽  
Shirley H Bush ◽  
Peter G Lawlor ◽  
Colleen Webber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Preliminary Data ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Spiritual Well Being

Background: There is evidence that psychosocial and spiritual interventions of short duration, such as reminiscence therapy, provide positive impacts on quality of life and emotional and existential well-being in adults receiving palliative care. Aim: To determine (1) the feasibility of integrating ‘LIFEView’, a video-based software with >1600 videos of world destinations, in palliative care settings, and (2) positive, neutral or harmful effects of using ‘LIFEView’ videos. Design: A mixed-methods pre–post intervention pilot study was conducted to collect feasibility and preliminary data on physical and psychological symptoms, physiological indicators, spiritual well-being and aspects of quality of life. Setting/participants: Adult patients on an inpatient palliative care unit or receiving care from a community palliative care consultation team who were capable of providing consent and completing the outcome measures were eligible participants. Results: Overall, 27/41 (66%) participants took part in the study. Feasibility criteria, including participant acceptability, low participant burden, tool completion rate and retention rate, were fulfilled, though challenges were experienced with recruitment. Modest improvements, though non-significant, were shown on preliminary data collected on physical and psychological symptoms using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System–revised, spiritual well-being assessed by the 12-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy – Spiritual Well-Being scale and physiological measurements. Qualitative analysis revealed five themes: motivations for using ‘LIFEView’, perceptions of the technology, reminiscence, ‘LIFEView’ as an adaptable technology and ongoing or future use. Conclusion: A future adequately powered study to investigate the impacts of ‘LIFEView’ on patient well-being and quality of life appears to be feasible.

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