Current End-of-Life Care Needs and Care Practices in Acute Care Hospitals.

A descriptive-comparative study was undertaken to examine current end-of-life care needs and practices in hospital. A chart review for all 1,018 persons who died from August 1, 2008 through July 31, 2009 in two full-service Canadian hospitals was conducted. Most decedents were elderly (73.

Access to palliative care services in hospital: a matter of being in the right hospital. Hospital charts study in a Canadian city.

Access to palliative care (PC) is a major need worldwide. Using hospital charts of all patients who died over one year (April 2008-March 2009) in two mid-sized hospitals of a large Canadian city, similar in size and function and operated by the same administrative group, this study examined which patients who could benefit from PC services actually received these services and which ones did not, and compared their care characteristics. A significantly lower proportion (29%) of patients dying in hospital 2 (without a PC unit and reliant on a visiting PC team) was referred to PC services as compared to in hospital 1 (with a PC unit; 68%).

A Hope Intervention Compared to Friendly Visitors as a Technique to Reduce Depression among Older Nursing Home Residents.

Depression is common among older persons. An experimental study was undertaken to test the impact of a four-week hope program on depressed nursing home residents. Residents aged 65 or older, who met the criteria for this pilot study and agreed to participate, were randomly assigned to (a) an intervention group, and provided with weekday hope interventions mainly involving positive messages and pictures or (b) a modified control group, and provided with a friendly weekday greeting.