Research Synthesis Related to Oncology Family Caregiver Spirituality in Palliative Care.

Family caregivers are central to the delivery of serious illness care and also have needs related to their role and experience. One aspect of the family caregiver quality of life (QOL) that has received less attention is caregiver spirituality. The research objectives for this analysis were (1) Describe spirituality in oncology family caregivers.

Financial toxicity in early-phase cancer clinical trial participants.

Background: Little is known about financial toxicity in early-phase clinical trial (EP-CT) participants. This study sought to describe financial toxicity in EP-CT participants and assess associations with patient characteristics and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Methods: Prospectively enrolled EP-CT participants from were followed from April 2021 through January 2023.

Multidisciplinary oncology clinicians' experiences delivering spiritual care to patients with cancer and their care partners.

Purpose: To understand multidisciplinary healthcare clinicians' meaningful and challenging experiences providing spiritual care to patients with cancer and their care partners.

Methods: Multidisciplinary clinicians who participated in a communication training program supported by the National Cancer Institute or a palliative care training for nurses (N = 257) responded to two, open-ended questions about meaningful and challenging experiences of providing spiritual care. A thematic analysis of responses using an iterative, inductive approach was conducted until saturation was reached.

"I Often Just Don't Know what to Say!": Variations in Multidisciplinary Palliative Care Clinicians' Confidence and Needs Related to Spiritual Care.

Background: Spiritual care is a core component of high-quality palliative care, yet gaps exist in spiritual care provision. Understanding clinicians' levels of confidence around spiritual care and their perceptions of necessary knowledge/skills to enhance their ability to provide spiritual care is foundational for improving delivery of spiritual care in practice.

Objectives: To understand confidence levels with providing spiritual care and perceived needs in relation to the provision of spiritual care among palliative clinicians (nurses, social workers, chaplains).

Communicating with LGBTQ+ persons at end of life: A case-based analysis of interdisciplinary palliative clinician perspectives.

Objective: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) persons with serious illness and their families often experience end-of-life (EOL) care disparities, such as homophobia and transphobia, disrespect and mistreatment, and exclusion of significant others or life partners. The aim of the study was to explore interdisciplinary clinicians' communication knowledge and priorities using a case of a gay man at EOL and his same-sex, cisgender spouse.

Methods: Interdisciplinary clinicians (n = 150) who participated in a national 3-day communication training program, rooted in Adult Learning Theory and supported by the National Cancer Institute, responded to open-ended questions about a composite case study emphasizing diversity challenges relevant to LGBTQ + communities in the EOL context.

Integrating evidence-based communication principles into routine cancer care.

Purpose: The global incidence of cancer and available cancer-directed therapy options is increasing rapidly, presenting patients and clinicians with more complex treatment decisions than ever before. Despite the dissemination of evidence-based communication training tools and programs, clinicians cite barriers to employing effective communication in cancer care (e.g.

Relationship Between Quality of Life and Symptom Burden in Patients With Cancer With and Without HIV in Botswana.

Cancer is an emerging public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa. In Botswana, the most prevalent cancers are HIV related. The symptom burden that results from cancer and HIV infection is associated with poorer quality of li.

Care Processes and Quality-of-Life Outcomes Affecting the Gynecologic Cancer Survivorship Experience.

Purpose: To describe and assess physical and psychosocial concerns and care processes related to cancer and treatment in gynecologic cancer survivors.

Participants & Setting: 44 survivors of gynecologic cancer at City of Hope National Medical Center in southern California were enrolled.

Methodologic Approach: A descriptive mixed-methods approach was used.

Palliative Care Clinician Perspectives on Person-Centered End-of-Life Communication for Racially and Culturally Minoritized Persons with Cancer.

The aim of this study was to examine interdisciplinary clinicians' perceptions of priorities in serious illness communication and shared decision-making with racially and culturally minoritized persons at end of life. Clinicians ( = 152) read a detailed case study about a patient self-identifying as Black and American Indian who describes mistrust of the healthcare system. Participants then responded to three open-ended questions about communication strategies and approaches they would employ in providing care.

Calling all nurses-Now is the time to take action on improving the quality of care in nursing homes.

For a number of decades, nurses have raised concerns about nursing-related issues in nursing homes (NH) such as inadequate registered nurse (RN) staffing, insufficient RN and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) gerontological expertise, and lack of RN leadership competencies. The NASEM Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes illuminated the long-standing issues and concerns affecting the quality of care in nursing homes and proposed seven goals and associated recommendations intended to achieve the Committee's vision: Nursing home residents receive care in a safe environment that honors their values and preferences, addresses goals of care, promotes equity, and assesses the benefits and risks of care and treatments. This paper outlines concrete and specific actions nurses and nursing organizations can take to ensure the recommendations are implemented.

Integrating Palliative Care into Nursing Care.

The need for palliative care in our health care system has exponentially increased in the past few years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the aging population, and the increasing number of people living with serious illnesses. While nurses play a critical role in delivering palliative care, many lack confidence and knowledge, causing practice gaps in the clinical and psychological management of seriously ill patients. The collective burden of the pandemic has demonstrated the importance of palliative care education and training, specifically in communication, symptom management, and continuing education.

Outcomes of a National Training Curriculum to Advance Generalist Level Palliative Care.

The adoption of palliative care as an integral component of health care has led to the need for generalist level providers, especially important in serious illnesses such as cancer. The goals of this National Cancer Institute-funded training program were to (1) identify the eight domains of quality palliative care applied to oncology practice, (2) demonstrate skills for oncology advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in the domains of palliative care, and (3) develop goals for implementing the skills training in practice through process improvement, staff education, and clinical care. The training program led by the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) project included oncology APRNs in a three-day training course with one-year follow-up for ongoing support and to assess impact.

Spirituality in Serious Illness and Health.

Importance: Despite growing evidence, the role of spirituality in serious illness and health has not been systematically assessed.

Objective: To review evidence concerning spirituality in serious illness and health and to identify implications for patient care and health outcomes.

Evidence Review: Searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science identified articles with evidence addressing spirituality in serious illness or health, published January 2000 to April 2022.

Family Caregiver Preparedness: Developing an Educational Intervention for Symptom Management.

Background: Family caregivers provide complex care for patients with cancer, including management of multiple symptoms associated with the disease and its treatment.

Objectives: The objective of this pilot project was to develop and conduct feasibility testing of a family caregiver educational intervention for symptom management.

Methods: The intervention was conducted with 23 family caregivers of patients with lung or gynecologic cancer to evaluate feasibility testing and assessment of caregiver preparedness, quality of life, and psychological distress at baseline and three and seven weeks postintervention.

American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel consensus statement on nursing's roles in ensuring universal palliative care access.

The purpose of this consensus paper was to convene leaders and scholars from eight Expert Panels of the American Academy of Nursing and provide recommendations to advance nursing's roles and responsibility to ensure universal access to palliative care. Part I of this consensus paper herein provides the rationale and background to support the policy, education, research, and clinical practice recommendations put forward in Part II. On behalf of the Academy, the evidence-based recommendations will guide nurses, policy makers, government representatives, professional associations, and interdisciplinary and community partners to integrate palliative nursing services across health and social care settings.

Improving Palliative Care and Quality of Life in Pancreatic Cancer Patients.

Pancreatic cancer patients often present with complications, which can impact treatment tolerance. Thus, symptom management is a vital component of treatment in addition to traditional chemotherapeutics. Concurrent palliative care with an emphasis on aggressive symptom management may sustain both clinical and patient-centered outcomes during treatment.

Global palliative nursing partnerships in the face of COVID-19.

Background: Mutually respectful and long-term global partnerships are critical to increasing hospice and palliative care access as a key component of universal health coverage. The importance of sustained, transnational palliative care collaboration has become more urgent since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: To provide an overview of characteristics for successful global palliative nursing partnerships.