Effective drain care and management in community settings.

The literature indicates that drain monitoring is a frequently undervalued aspect of patient care, and that the drain care provided is often inconsistent and inadequate. There are numerous potential implications of suboptimal drain care for patients, nurses, teams and healthcare organisations. Since acute care is increasingly being delivered in the community, there is a greater need for nurses to have an understanding of effective drain care.

Effective drain care and management in community settings.

The literature indicates that drain monitoring is a frequently undervalued aspect of patient care, and that the drain care provided is often inconsistent and inadequate. There are numerous potential implications of suboptimal drain care for patients, nurses, teams and healthcare organisations. Since acute care is increasingly being delivered in the community, there is a greater need for nurses to have an understanding of effective drain care.

Musculoskeletal pain in older adults at the end-of-life: a systematic search and critical review of the literature with priorities for future research.

Background: Pain is an important issue in end of life care. Although musculoskeletal pain is common in older adults, it is rarely associated with the cause of death and may be overlooked as death approaches. Hence a major target for improving quality of life may be being missed.

Caring for families with a family history of cancer: why concerns about genetic predisposition are missing from the palliative agenda.

Care of the family is integral to palliative care, but little attention has been paid to the way nurses, or other healthcare professionals, are responding to the needs of families who are concerned about whether their family history of cancer is associated with an inherited genetic predisposition. This paper discusses how palliative care nurses perceive the care needs of patients with a family history of cancer. Data were collected through recorded, semi-structured interviews with 10 nurses who had worked in specialist palliative care.

Exploring cancer genetics and care of the family: an evolving challenge for palliative care.

There is a growing scientific understanding and increasing public awareness of the influence of genetics on the development of cancer. This article, which is based on a review of the literature, focuses on how the awareness of genetic predisposition to cancer is affecting patients and their families. It highlights the way that risk assessment for predisposition to cancer can conflict with traditional models of informed consent and can cause concern for families.

The practice of pilgrimage in palliative care: a case study of Lourdes.

Aim: To understand why healthcare professionals working in palliative care felt that pilgrimage to Lourdes could be a beneficial activity for the terminally ill.

Design: A qualitative study using a phenomenological framework.

Methods: Nine semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of hospice staff.