scholarly journals Home Visit and Palliative Care

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 399
Author(s):  
Orapan Fumaneeshoat

To date, an advance in medical technology and science increase the population’s life-span. Hence, palliative medicine, aiming to improve quality of life in patients’ life with incurable diseases becomes essentially significant. Palliative care is a holistic approach, incorporating physical, mental, social and spiritual health. Most Thai patients in the late stage of diseases prefer staying and receiving health care at home where they feel more familiar and restful. In addition, home is the place where they can be with their beloveds and relatives. Therefore, they would like to die at home rather than at hospital. However, many of them did not live, the way they want the remaining of their lives to be nor they die where they would like to die. This is because their caregivers could not manage the exacerbation of symptoms properly, along with the rapid progression of diseases, resulted in hospital admission at the end stage of patients’ lives. Hereafter, palliative home visit plays an important role to allow patients spend their precious time as they approach the end of their life and finally die peacefully at home as they wished. Palliative home visit must be well-planned and appropriate for each patient to ensure that patients, their families and caregivers receive the best health care, according to patients’ will.

Author(s):  
Nita Arisanti ◽  
Dany Hilmanto ◽  
Elsa Pudji Setiawati ◽  
Veranita Pandia

.................... The access to palliative care in ends of life is one of the patients’ rights. Therefore it should be delivered into every level of health care for patients and family members. In some countries, palliative care is more frequent delivered in hospitals compare to primary health care, even though primary health care has a significant role in providing palliative care. Most families prefer to care for patients at home rather than in the hospital................................... The implementation of palliative care in Indonesia is still very limited to certain hospitals, even though doctors in primary care have great potential to offer such care to people in the community. Some of the factors contributing to the implementation are cultural and socioeconomic factors, patient and family perceptions, attitudes of service providers, lack of trained personnel, distribution of palliative care units, lack of consolidation and limited funds. As a result, patients with end-stage disease die in hospitals without receiving palliative care or dying at home with inadequate support................


10.2196/16218 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. e16218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simen A Steindal ◽  
Andréa Aparecida Goncalves Nes ◽  
Tove E Godskesen ◽  
Alfhild Dihle ◽  
Susanne Lind ◽  
...  

Background Telehealth is increasingly being used in home care and could be one measure to support the needs of home-based patients receiving palliative care. However, no previous scoping review has mapped existing studies on the use of telehealth for patients in palliative home care. Objective The aim of this study was to map and assess published studies on the use of telehealth for patients in palliative home care. Methods A scoping review was conducted using the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley. Reporting was guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. A systematic and comprehensive search of Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health was performed for studies published between January 2000 and October 2018. Two authors independently assessed eligibility and extracted data. Results The review included 22 papers from 19 studies. Four thematic groupings were identified among the included papers: easy and effortless use of telehealth regardless of the current health condition, visual features that enhance communication and care via telehealth, symptom management and self-management promotion by telehealth, and perceptions of improved palliative care at home. Conclusions The use of telehealth in palliative home care seems to be feasible, improving access to health care professionals at home and enhancing feelings of security and safety. The visual features of telehealth seem to allow a genuine relationship with health care professionals. However, there are contradicting results on whether the use of telehealth improves burdensome symptoms and quality of life. Future research should investigate the experiences of using telehealth among patients with life-limiting illness other than cancer and patients aged 85 years or older. More research is needed to increase the body of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of telehealth on symptoms and quality of life.


Author(s):  
Simen A Steindal ◽  
Andréa Aparecida Goncalves Nes ◽  
Tove E Godskesen ◽  
Alfhild Dihle ◽  
Susanne Lind ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Telehealth is increasingly being used in home care and could be one measure to support the needs of home-based patients receiving palliative care. However, no previous scoping review has mapped existing studies on the use of telehealth for patients in palliative home care. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to map and assess published studies on the use of telehealth for patients in palliative home care. METHODS A scoping review was conducted using the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley. Reporting was guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. A systematic and comprehensive search of Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health was performed for studies published between January 2000 and October 2018. Two authors independently assessed eligibility and extracted data. RESULTS The review included 22 papers from 19 studies. Four thematic groupings were identified among the included papers: easy and effortless use of telehealth regardless of the current health condition, visual features that enhance communication and care via telehealth, symptom management and self-management promotion by telehealth, and perceptions of improved palliative care at home. CONCLUSIONS The use of telehealth in palliative home care seems to be feasible, improving access to health care professionals at home and enhancing feelings of security and safety. The visual features of telehealth seem to allow a genuine relationship with health care professionals. However, there are contradicting results on whether the use of telehealth improves burdensome symptoms and quality of life. Future research should investigate the experiences of using telehealth among patients with life-limiting illness other than cancer and patients aged 85 years or older. More research is needed to increase the body of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of telehealth on symptoms and quality of life.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e025692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corita R Grudzen ◽  
Deborah J Shim ◽  
Abigail M Schmucker ◽  
Jeanne Cho ◽  
Keith S Goldfeld

IntroductionEmergency department (ED)-initiated palliative care has been shown to improve patient-centred outcomes in older adults with serious, life-limiting illnesses. However, the optimal modality for providing such interventions is unknown. This study aims to compare nurse-led telephonic case management to specialty outpatient palliative care for older adults with serious, life-limiting illness on: (1) quality of life in patients; (2) healthcare utilisation; (3) loneliness and symptom burden and (4) caregiver strain, caregiver quality of life and bereavement.Methods and analysisThis is a protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel, two-arm randomised controlled trial in ED patients comparing two established models of palliative care: nurse-led telephonic case management and specialty, outpatient palliative care. We will enrol 1350 patients aged 50+ years and 675 of their caregivers across nine EDs. Eligible patients: (1) have advanced cancer (metastatic solid tumour) or end-stage organ failure (New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure, end-stage renal disease with glomerular filtration rate <15 mL/min/m2, or global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease stage III, IV or oxygen-dependent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); (2) speak English; (3) are scheduled for ED discharge or observation status; (4) reside locally; (5) have a working telephone and (6) are insured. Patients will be excluded if they: (1) have dementia; (2) have received hospice care or two or more palliative care visits in the last 6 months or (3) reside in a long-term care facility. We will use patient-level block randomisation, stratified by ED site and disease. Effectiveness will be compared by measuring the impact of each intervention on the specified outcomes. The primary outcome will measure change in patient quality of life.Ethics and disseminationInstitutional Review Board approval was obtained at all study sites. Trial results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.Trial registration numberNCT03325985; Pre-results.


Author(s):  
Lauren Russo ◽  
Karen Willis ◽  
Natasha Smallwood

Objectives: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a debilitating and life-limiting condition, requiring multi-disciplinary care. While guidelines recommend early specialist palliative care referral to improve symptoms and quality of life, few patients access such care towards the end-of-life. This study aimed to explore clinicians’ perspectives regarding specialist palliative care and opioids to understand barriers to optimal care and guide clinical practice improvement initiatives. Methods: A cross-sectional, exploratory, qualitative study was undertaken with Australian respiratory clinicians caring for people with ILD (n = 17). In-depth, semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and coded. Thematic analysis was undertaken to extrapolate recurring ideas from the data. Results: Four themes were identified: 1) understanding how to improve patient care and support, 2) the need to dispel stigmatized beliefs and misconceptions, 3) the importance of trusted relationships and good communication and 4) the challenges of navigating the health-care system. Participants discussed the need to implement early specialist palliative care and symptom palliation to alleviate symptoms, provide emotional support and augment quality of life. Participants described challenges accessing palliative care and opioids due to stigmatized beliefs amongst patients and clinicians and difficulties navigating the health-care system. Trusted therapeutic relationships with patients and strong inter-disciplinary partnerships with collaborative education and communication were perceived to improve patients’ access to symptom palliation. Conclusion: Specialist palliative care and opioids were believed to improve patients’ quality of life, however, many barriers can make accessing such care challenging. To address these issues, multi-disciplinary collaboration, high-quality communication and trusted therapeutic relationships are crucial throughout the ILD illness journey.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Cesar Iwamoto Marcucci ◽  
Marcos Aparecido Sarria Cabrera

An aging population and epidemiological transition involves prolonged terminal illnesses and an increased demand for end-stage support in health services, mainly in hospitals. Changes in health care and government health policies may influence the death locations, making it possible to remain at home or in an institution. The scope of this article is to analyze death locations in the city of Londrina, State of Paraná, from 1996 to 2010, and to verify the influence of population and health policy changes on these statistics. An analysis was conducted into death locations in Londrina in Mortality Information System (SIM) considering the main causes and locations of death. There was an increase of 28% in deaths among the population in general, though 48% for the population over 60 years of age. There was an increase of deaths in hospitals, which were responsible for 70% of the occurrences, though death frequencies in others locations did not increase, and deaths in the home remained at about 18%. The locations of death did not change during this period, even with health policies that broadened care in other locations, such as the patient´s home. The predominance of hospital deaths was similar to other Brazilian cities, albeit higher than in other countries.


Author(s):  
Sulikah Asmorowati ◽  
Inge Dhamanty

The high rate of deaths caused by serious illnesses has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend palliative care that is considered to be able to improve the quality of patient’s live Palliative care or service is service for patients with serious illnesses, such as cancer (stadium or end-stage). In this activity, however, palliative care and service is extended so that it includes diseases that are not contagious but deadly (thus, contributed significantly to mortality rate), including such illnesses as diabetes, high-blood pressure, cholesterol, stroke and other similar illnesses. These illnesses are now increasingly being suffered by and become the major cause of death (caused by illnesses) amongst Indonesians. In order to increase the availability of palliative services in the target area, this community project provides training and assistance to develop women’s capacity in the villages of Kambingan and Ngembung, Cerme, Gresik, so that they are ready to volunteers for palliative care and service in their respective communities. The projects were conducted by providing material through lectures, and modules; followed by assistance to form a team of palliative case and service. At the end, this project resulted in the increasing understanding, and capacity of women (and mothers or PKK member), as the target groups about palliative care and services. In turn, the women were then ready to become volunteers for palliative care and program.abstrakTingginya tingkat kematian akibat penyakit serius membuat WHO menyarankan untuk melakukan perawatan paliatif yang dianggap dapat meningkatkan kualitas hidup pasien. Program atau layanan paliatif adalah pelayanan kepada pasien dengan penyakit berat, yaitu kanker (stadium akhir). Dalam kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat (pengmas) ini, layanan paliatif diperluas sehingga meliputi pula penyakit-penyakit yang tidak menular namun mematikan, seperti penyakit diabates, darah tinggi, kolesterol, stroke dan sejenisnya yang dewasa ini semakin banyak di derita masyarakat Indonesia. Kegiatan pengmas ini memberikan pelatihan dan pendampingan untuk mengembangkan kapasitas ibu-ibu tim penggerak dan anggota PKK di Desa Kambingan dan Desa Ngembung, Kecamatan Cerme, Kabupaten Gresik agar siap untuk menjadi relawan program paliatif di lingkungan masyarakat masing-masing. Metode yang digunakan dalam kegiatan ini adalah dengan pemberian materi melalui ceramah, pemberian modul, serta pendampingan pembentukan tim paliatif sebagai follow-up kegiatan. Hasil yang dicapai dari kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat ini adalah meningkatnya pemahaman masyarakat khususnya ibu-ibu tentang layanan paliatif, serta meningkatnya kapasitas mereka,sehingga siap menjadi relawan program paliatif.


Author(s):  
Tobias Walbert ◽  
Joel Phillips

Neurological disorders are among the leading causes of morbidity and death worldwide. Although stroke is the third leading cause of death, after heart disease and cancer, in the United States, other neurological diseases have a more chronic course that leads to protracted disability, morbidity, and death. Unfortunately, for many of these disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS), no cure is currently available. Patients suffer from dysarthria, dysphagia, muscle spasm, bladder and bowel difficulties, pain syndromes, and fatigue. Adequate symptom management and palliative care have the potential to maintain good quality of life for patients for as long as possible and ease the burden on both caregivers and patients. This chapter outlines the principles of clinical symptom management for some of the most important neurological diseases, specifically ALS, stroke, MS, and Parkinson’s disease.


Author(s):  
Sriram Yennurajalingam

Palliative care emergencies are both cancer and non-cancer-related events that demand immediate remedy or action because they cause acute exacerbation of symptoms that affect quality of life. Decision-making with regard to the type of treatment for these emergencies is critical and should be based on (a) reversibility of the problem, (b) improvement/maintenance of the patient’s quality of life with reversal, (c) the patient’s general condition and prognosis, (d) patient and family goals, and (e) the risk and benefit of treatment versus distress of symptoms. Common emergencies include spinal cord compression, hypercalcemia, impeding pathological fracture, superior vena caval syndrome, seizures, bleeding, and uncontrolled symptoms such as pain and dyspnea.


1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Dush

The hospice movement grew in part as a reaction to the perception that modern medical care had become too technological at the expense of being impersonal and insensitive to human psychological and spiritual concerns. In the United States, the institutionalization of hospice care under Medicare and other reimbursement systems has further established hospice as an alternative to high-technology, high-cost care. The present paper examines the question: What if hospice care becomes itself high-technology, aggressive, costly health care in order to remain true to its goal of maximizing quality of life? Implications for the goals and philosophical underpinnings of palliative care are discussed.


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