scholarly journals The impact on emotional well-being of being a palliative care volunteer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 026921632110647
Author(s):  
Helena Coleman ◽  
Andy Sanderson-Thomas ◽  
Catherine Walshe
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Care Services ◽  
The Impact

Background: Much palliative care provision relies on the support of volunteers. Attention is paid to the risks to professionals providing care, such as stress and burnout, but understanding if this is an issue for volunteers is little understood. It is important to understand the impact their role has on volunteers emotional well-being. Aim: To explore the experiences of palliative care volunteers and how the role impacted on their emotional well-being. Design: Interpretative phenomenological analysis, with data collected through semi-structured interviews. Setting/participants: Volunteers in patient-facing roles within palliative and end-of-life care services in the UK. Results: Volunteers ( n = 10) across three palliative and end-of-life care services. Four themes were developed: (1) it can be challenging; (2) it’s where I’m meant to be; (3) managing death; (4) the importance of connection. Challenges included frustrations and questioning themselves. Although difficult at times, volunteers expressed the importance of the role, doing well and that they benefitted too. They also had to manage death and discussed beliefs about life and death, acceptance and managing patients’ fears. Connection with the hospice, patients, staff and other volunteers was important, with a need for everyone to feel valued. Conclusions: Although there are psychosocial benefits for volunteers in their role, it is important to understand the challenges faced and consider ongoing support to help volunteers manage these challenges. This could be addressed through the consideration of coping mechanisms, further training and reflective practice for volunteers.

Are family carers part of the care team providing end-of-life care? A qualitative interview study on the collaboration between family and professional carers

2020 ◽  
pp. 026921632095434
Author(s):  
Maarten Vermorgen ◽  
Isabel Vandenbogaerde ◽  
Chantal Van Audenhove ◽  
Peter Hudson ◽  
Luc Deliens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
Missed Opportunities

Background: The attention of healthcare professionals is directed mainly towards the recipients of care and often insufficiently towards family carers. However, an effective collaboration between professionals and family carers is vital to provide quality palliative and end-of-life care. Such collaboration is under-studied in a palliative care context. Aim: This study aimed to investigate how family carers of people who live at home with a life-limiting chronic illness experience and perceive collaboration with different healthcare professionals in the last phase of life. Design: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with the primary family carers of people with a life-limiting chronic illness. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse the data. Setting/participants: A heterogeneous sample of 30 family carers of people with cancer, heart failure or dementia was recruited through a variety of care providers and services, in order to reflect the heterogeneity of caregiving in serious illness. Results: Five main themes emerged from interpretative phenomenological analysis that describe the quality of the collaboration between family carers and professionals: respecting family carers both as someone with care needs and as a member of the care team; the continuous availability and accessibility of healthcare professionals; the provision of information and communication including family carer issues; the coordination of care between all parties and contextual factors. The dominant experience by family carers was one of missed opportunities across these themes. Conclusions: This qualitative study about the experiences and perceptions of family carers of people with a chronic life-limiting illness living at home regarding the collaboration with different healthcare providers in the last phase life, showed that family carers experience a lot of possibilities, but perceive missed opportunities as well, for healthcare professionals to effectively collaborate with them for palliative care.

First steps: Health and social care professionals beginning to address the palliative and end of life care needs of people with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations in Lebanon

Sexualities ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136346072093238
Author(s):  
Claude Chidiac
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Healthcare Needs ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Impact

The available evidence demonstrates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face challenges when accessing palliative care services, and receive suboptimal care at the end of life. This is mainly attributed to assumed heterosexuality, lack of knowledge and understanding of LGBT issues and specific healthcare needs, discrimination, homophobia, and transphobia. In Lebanon, legal and institutional support for LGBT individuals is minimal, and palliative care provision remains scarce and fragmented. This compounds the impact of social stigma and marginalisation, and results in unrecognised palliative and end of life care needs for the LGBT individual. This short commentary discusses the development of an LGBT palliative care workshop in Lebanon, which was the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It also explores how this initiative has led to further developments, and how these efforts can be replicated in other countries in the MENA region.

scholarly journals Establishment of Palliative and End-of-Life Care Services in Sri Lanka

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s127-s128
Author(s):  
Clifford Perera ◽  
Udayangani Ramadasa ◽  
Chandrika Wijeratne ◽  
Panduka Karunanayake ◽  
Thashi Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Steering Committee ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Care Services

Introduction:Sri Lanka has a rapidly aging population with an exponential rise in chronic morbidity. There had been no parallel development of palliative and end-of-life care-specific approach in health care.Aim:To implement sustainable palliative and end-of-life care services in Sri Lanka through the existing systems and resources by advocacy, collaboration, and professional commitment.Methods:Sri Lanka Medical Association established a volunteer task force for palliative and end-of-life care (PCTF) in October 2016, which comprised of multi-disciplinary health care professionals, legal fraternity, and civil society. PCTF identified the need for sensitizing the general public on the importance of palliative care, for standard guidelines and formal training for practicing health care professionals engaged in hospital and community-based palliative care. These needs are addressed through activities of PCTF in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.Results:Representing the National Steering Committee of Palliative Care, the members of the PCTF were instrumental in developing the National Strategic Framework to fill the major gap of affordable quality palliative care in the country. PCTF also published the “Palliative Care Manual for Management of Non-Cancer Patients” as a preliminary guide for health care professionals. The draft document on the End-of-Life Care Guidelines has been formulated and is currently being reviewed by the relevant medical and legal stakeholders. PCTF has organized CME lectures on palliative care all over the country for health care professionals, and also conducted lectures, exhibitions, and mass media programs to sensitize the public on palliative care.Discussion:Within a brief period, PCTF has played a key role to recognize palliative care by contributing to policy making, training, and public sensitization in palliative and end-of-life care in Sri Lanka.

The impact of a one month palliative care rotation on medical residents working in a tertiary cancer center in Jordan.

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (29_suppl) ◽  
pp. 168-168
Author(s):  
Omar M. Shamieh ◽  
Alia Alawneh ◽  
Wafa Ahamd ◽  
Sewar S Salmany ◽  
Barakat Altamimi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Residents ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Clinical Rotation ◽  
Life Care ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tertiary Cancer Center

168 Background: Palliative care education and training remains inadequate for medical professionals especially in developing countries. We evaluated the impact of a one month palliative care clinical rotation on medical residents’ attitude, competency, and knowledge related to palliative care in a tertiary cancer center in Jordan. Methods: All transitional Internal Medicine residents rotated in a monthly palliative care rotation at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), in Amman, Jordan, were requested to participate in this educational intervention study. A concise curriculum in palliative and end of life care, adapted from the Education for Physicians on End-Of-Life Care (EPEC) Curriculum and delivered by our faculty was piloted as a part of the clinical rotation. Residents spent one month in the inpatient palliative care unit, in addition to 10 hours of classroom interactive sessions. The curriculum comprised of five modules: 1- Principles of palliative care, 2- Pain management, 3- Management of distressing symptoms, 4- Communication skills, 5- End-of- life care. To assess our educational outcomes, we adapted a previously developed instruments by David Weisman and used by the National Residency Education in the United States. All Instruments were completed by each resident before and after the rotation, and included self-assessment of attitude, competency and a knowledge test comprising of 32-items of multiple choice questions. Results: Twenty of 27 (74%) residents who started the palliative care rotation completed the required education and had paired evaluations. There was improvement in all three instruments: 37% improvement in competence (p < 0.0001), 17% Improvement in knowledge (p = 0.015), and 5% improvement in attitude (p = 0.02). Conclusions: The one-month mandatory rotation improved knowledge, attitude and competence related to palliative care for medical residents.

scholarly journals Prevalence and characteristics of prisoners requiring end-of-life care: A prospective national survey

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Pazart ◽  
Aurélie Godard-Marceau ◽  
Aline Chassagne ◽  
Aurore Vivot-Pugin ◽  
Elodie Cretin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
General Population ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
National Survey ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Life Care ◽  
The Impact

Background: Ensuring adequate end-of-life care for prisoners is a critical issue. In France, data investigating the impact of laws allowing release of seriously ill prisoners are lacking. Aim: To assess the number and characteristics of prisoners requiring palliative care in French prisons. Design: A prospective, national survey collecting data over a 3-month period. Setting/participants: All healthcare units ( n = 190) providing care for prisoners in France. The prison population was 66,698 during the study period. Data collection concerned prisoners requiring end-of-life care, that is, with serious, advanced, progressive, or terminal illness and life expectancy <1 year. Results: Estimated annual prevalence of ill prisoners requiring end-of-life care was 15.2 (confidence interval: 12.5–18.3) per 10,000 prisoners. The observed number of prisoners requiring palliative care ( n = 50) was twice as high as the expected age- and sex-standardized number based on the general population and similar to the expected number among persons 10 years older in the free community. In all, 41 of 44 (93%) of identified ill prisoners were eligible for temporary or permanent compassionate release, according to their practitioner. Only 33 of 48 (68%) of ill prisoners requested suspension or reduction in their sentence on medical grounds; half (16/33) received a positive answer. Conclusion: The proportion of prisoners requiring palliative care is higher than expected in the general population. The general frailty and co-existing conditions of prisoners before incarceration and the acceleration of these phenomena in prison could explain this increase in end-of-life situations among prisoners.

Outpatient Palliative Care and Aggressiveness of End-of-Life Care in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Won Lee ◽  
Hyun Jung Jho ◽  
Ji Yeon Baek ◽  
Eun Kyung Shim ◽  
Hyun Mi Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Metastatic Colorectal Cancer ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Hospice Care ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
Life Care ◽  
The Impact

Background: Palliative care in outpatient setting has been shown to promote better symptom management and transition to hospice care among patients with advanced cancer. Nevertheless, specialized palliative care is rarely provided at cancer centers in Korea. Herein, we aimed to assess aggressiveness of end-of-life care for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer according to the use of outpatient palliative care (OPC) at a single cancer center in Korea. Methods: We performed a retrospective medical record review for 132 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who died between 2011 and 2014. Fifty patients used OPC (OPC group), while 82 patients did not (non-OPC group). Indicators of aggressiveness of end-of-life care including chemotherapy use, emergency department visits, hospitalization, and utilization of hospice care were analyzed according to the use of OPC. Results: More patients in the OPC group were admitted to hospice than those in the non-OPC group (32% vs 17%, P = .047). The mean of inpatient days within 30 days of death was shorter for the OPC group than the non-OPC group (4.02 days vs 7.77 days, respectively, P = .032). There were no differences in the proportions of patients who received chemotherapy and visited the emergency department within 30 days from death. Conclusion: Among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, OPC was associated with shorter inpatient days near death and greater hospice utilization. Further prospective studies are needed to evaluate the impact of OPC on end-of-life care in Korea.

Does post-registration palliative care education for nurses improve practice? A systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 552-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Thavaraj ◽  
Karen Gillett
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Care Education ◽  
Palliative Care Education ◽  
The Impact

Aims: We aimed to answer the question: what is the evidence that post-registration palliative care education for nurses improves practice? Background: The 2008 End of Life Care Strategy emphasised the need for a workforce equipped to provide high-quality end-of-life care for patients and their families. As registered nurses are the healthcare professionals spending most time with patients and families at the end of life, associated policy documents stress the importance of educating nurses to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide effective care. Despite education being a consistent recommendation, the ability of education to influence nursing practice is uncertain. Methods: We undertook a systematic review of literature using Joanna Briggs Institute Methodology for Mixed Methods by searching the Medline, Embase and CINAHL databases between January 2006 and December 2018. Findings: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, seven contained quantitative data. Six demonstrated improvements in outcome measures, but not all results were statistically significant. Most quantitative data related to self-reported measures of confidence. Six studies contained qualitative findings that were categorised into themes: confidence, practice change, skills and proactivity. Conclusion: Little research exists exploring the impact of post-registration palliative care education for nurses. Existing outcome measures do not clearly demonstrate changes to end-of-life practice. Research is suggested to establish links between self-reported confidence and improvements to practice. Evaluation of the impact on practice should be an integral component of end-of-life education initiatives.

Transitioning end-of-life care from hospital to the community: case report

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (17) ◽  
pp. 1010-1014
Author(s):  
Pedro Lino ◽  
Mary Williams
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Community Setting ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Advance Care ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
The Impact

Palliative/end-of-life care is an integral part of the district nursing service. There is increasing demand for palliative care to be delivered in the community setting. Therefore, there is a need for excellent collaboration between staff in primary and secondary care settings to achieve optimum care for patients. This article critically analyses the care delivered for a palliative patient in the hospital setting and his subsequent transition to the community setting. The importance of effective communication, holistic assessment in palliative care, advance care planning, organisational structures and the socio-cultural aspects of caring for patients at the end of life are discussed. Additionally, the article highlights the impact of substandard assessment and communication and the consequent effect on patients and families.

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