Supportive Cancer Care at the End of Life: Mapping the Cultural Landscape in Palliative Care and Music Therapy

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Forrest
2020 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002641
Author(s):  
Pierre Antoine Monier ◽  
Jan Chrusciel ◽  
Fiona Ecarnot ◽  
Eduardo Bruera ◽  
Stephane Sanchez ◽  
...  

ObjectivesPrevious studies have found an association between aggressive cancer care and lower quality end of life. Despite international recommendations, late or very late referral to palliative care seems frequent. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the duration of involvement of a palliative care team (PCT), and aggressive cancer care, and to identify factors associated with aggressive cancer care.MethodsWe performed an observational retrospective study in a single academic teaching hospital. In total, 561 inpatients with solid tumours or haematological malignancies were included. Patients followed by a PCT for at least 1 month before death were classified in the palliative care group. Aggressive cancer care was defined as: hospitalisations and/or a new line of chemotherapy within the last month of life, location of death, the use of chemotherapy in the last 2 weeks and hospice admissions within the last 3 days of life.ResultsAmong the 561 patients, 241 (43%) were referred to the PCT; 89 (16%) were followed by the PCT for a month or more before death. In the last 2 weeks of life, 124 (22%) patients received chemotherapy, 110 (20%) died in an acute care unit. At least one criterion of aggressive cancer care was found in 395 patients overall (71%). Aggressive cancer care was significantly less frequent when the PCT referral occurred >1 month before death (p<0.0001).ConclusionMore studies are needed to understand reasons for late referrals despite international recommendations encouraging integrative palliative care.Ethics approvalThe study was approved by the Grenoble Teaching Hospital ethics committee, and by the CNIL (French national commission for data privacy; Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés) under the number 1987785 v 0. Due to ethical and legal restrictions, data are only available on request.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 254-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megumi Shimizu ◽  
Maho Aoyama ◽  
Tatsuya Morita ◽  
Satoru Tsuneto ◽  
Yasuo Shima ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 368.2-368
Author(s):  
Lisa Graham-Wisener ◽  
Joanne Reid ◽  
Tracy McConnell ◽  
Kerry McGrillen ◽  
Jenny Kirkwood ◽  
...  

IntroductionMusic therapy aligns to the holistic approach to palliative and end-of-life care (PEOLC) with increased prevalence in PEOLC settings (Graham-Wisener et al. 2018). Despite this there is a dearth of high-quality evidence examining the impact of music therapy towards end of life on quality of life (McConnell et al. 2016).AimsThe aim of this pilot and feasibility study was to: test procedures; outcomes and validated tools; estimate recruitment and attrition rates; and calculate the sample size required for a phase III randomised controlled trial.MethodsA single-centre pilot and feasibility trial with patients admitted to a specialist palliative care inpatient unit within the United Kingdom. Participants were randomised (1:1) to either a music therapy intervention of two 30–45 min sessions of music therapy per week for three consecutive weeks or usual care. The primary outcome measure was to evaualte the feasibility of administering the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQoL) baseline with follow-up measures at one, three and five weeks.Results51 participants were recruited to the trial over a 12 month period. Feasibility of administering music therapy intervention and attrition rates identified one-week follow-up as an appropriate primary outcome. Results suggest a likely effect on MQoL total score between intervention and control arms in particular the existential subscale.ConclusionThe current study resolved a number of issues towards informing robust procedures for a phase III RCT. This data is urgently needed to ensure an evidence-based decision on inclusion of music therapy in palliative care services.References. Graham-Wisener L, Watts G, Kirkwood J, Harrison C, McEwan J, Porter S, Reid J, McConnell TH. Music therapy in UK palliative and end-of-life care: A service evaluation. BMJ supportive & palliative care2018.. McConnell T, Scott D, Porter S. Music therapy for end-of-life care: An updated systematic review. Palliative Medicine2016;30(9):877–883.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellinor Christin Haukland ◽  
Christian von Plessen ◽  
Carsten Nieder ◽  
Barthold Vonen

Abstract Background: Anticancer treatment exposes patients to negative consequences such as increased toxicity and decreased quality of life, and there are clear guidelines recommending limiting use of aggressive anticancer treatments for patients near end of life. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between anticancer treatment given during the last 30 days of life and adverse events contributing to death and elucidate how adverse events can be used as a measure of quality and safety in end-of-life cancer care Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 247 deceased hospitalised cancer patients at three hospitals in Norway. The Global Trigger Tool method were used to identify adverse events. We used Poisson regression and binary logistic regression to compare adverse events and association with use of anticancer treatment given during the last 30 days of life. Results: 30 % of deceased hospitalised cancer patients received some kind of anticancer treatment during the last 30 days of life, mainly systemic anticancer treatment. These patients had 62 % more adverse events compared to patients not being treated last 30 days, 39 vs. 24 adverse events per 1 000 patient days (p<0.001, OR 1.62 (1.23 – 2.15). They also had twice the odds of an adverse event contributing to death compared to patients without such treatment, 33 vs. 18 % (p=0.045, OR 1.85 (1.01 – 3.36)). Receiving follow up by specialist palliative care reduced the rate of AEs per 1 000 patient days in both groups by 29 % (p= 0.02, IRR 0.71, CI 95% 0.53 – 0.96). Conclusions: Anticancer treatment given during the last 30 days of life is associated with a significantly increased rate of adverse events and related mortality. Patients receiving specialist palliative care had significantly fewer adverse events, supporting recommendations of early integration of palliative care in a patient safety perspective.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellinor Christin Haukland ◽  
Christian von Plessen ◽  
Carsten Nieder ◽  
Barthold Vonen

Abstract Background: Anticancer treatment exposes patients to negative consequences such as increased toxicity and decreased quality of life, and there are clear guidelines recommending limiting use of aggressive anticancer treatments for patients near end of life. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between anticancer treatment given during the last 30 days of life and adverse events contributing to death and elucidate how adverse events can be used as a measure of quality and safety in end-of-life cancer careMethods: Retrospective cohort study of 247 deceased hospitalised cancer patients at three hospitals in Norway in 2012 and 2013. The Global Trigger Tool method were used to identify adverse events. We used Poisson regression and binary logistic regression to compare adverse events and association with use of anticancer treatment given during the last 30 days of life.Results: 30 % of deceased hospitalised cancer patients received some kind of anticancer treatment during the last 30 days of life, mainly systemic anticancer treatment. These patients had 62 % more adverse events compared to patients not being treated last 30 days, 39 vs. 24 adverse events per 1 000 patient days (p<0.001, OR 1.62 (1.23 – 2.15). They also had twice the odds of an adverse event contributing to death compared to patients without such treatment, 33 vs. 18 % (p=0.045, OR 1.85 (1.01 – 3.36)). Receiving follow up by specialist palliative care reduced the rate of AEs per 1 000 patient days in both groups by 29 % (p= 0.02, IRR 0.71, CI 95% 0.53 – 0.96).Conclusions: Anticancer treatment given during the last 30 days of life is associated with a significantly increased rate of adverse events and related mortality. Patients receiving specialist palliative care had significantly fewer adverse events, supporting recommendations of early integration of palliative care in a patient safety perspective.


Author(s):  
Kathryn Lindenfelser

It has been my experience that parents are willing and open to express their voices to promote and advocate for music therapy services for their terminally ill children. By listening to parents' voices when providing care for terminally ill children, much can be done to ease the suffering of children and families at the end of life (Widger & Wilkins, 2004). My music therapy masters research at the University of Melbourne with Dr. Katrina McFerran will investigate bereaved parents' experiences of music therapy with their terminally ill child. This inquiry unfolded through my music therapy work with several children and families within hospice and palliative care. Parents have reflected that music therapy was a vital component in their child's care at the end of life. As one mom commented, "I don't care what anyone says, it has made a world of a difference." In order to further explore parents' experiences of music therapy, in-depth interviews will be conducted and transcripts will be analyzed using phenomenological strategies. It has been reported that parents find the interview process helpful in working through grief. They have also reported feeling an overall eagerness to share their child's story in order to provide input that might assist other families in the future (Widger & Wilkins, 2004). This article will describe pediatric palliative and hospice care, discuss parents as advocates for their terminally ill children, portray the use of music therapy within pediatrics, and share an example of music therapy with Jack.


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