The Vulnerable Elders Survey and its prognostic relationship to survival in an older community-based palliative population.

Objectives: Frailty denotes a vulnerability to poor outcomes and is a common risk factor for mortality in older persons. The Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES) is an easy to administer validated screening tool to detect a frail population. Assessment of frailty has the potential to aid in prognostication for the older community dwelling palliative population.

Acceptability of early integration of palliative care in patients with incurable lung cancer.

Background: Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death, and it is known many affected will have significant palliative care needs. Evidence suggests that early involvement of palliative care can translate into improvements in quality of care, quality of life, and survival. However, routine early integration is yet to be embraced as standard of care for the majority of patients, and it is unclear what lung cancer clinicians continue to perceive as the barriers to this model of care.

The development and evaluation of an inpatient palliative care admission triage tool.

Background: An increased demand for palliative care services has been demonstrated, in part due to an aging population and an enhanced role of palliative care in nonmalignant illness. In particular, there is a demand for inpatient palliative care unit beds, with several services now creating waiting lists for admission. The aim of this study was to explore the development, implementation, and outcomes following the introduction of an inpatient palliative care admission triage tool.

Care of the dying in Australia's busiest hospital: benefits of palliative care consultation and methods to enhance access.

Background: Hospital-based palliative care consultative teams assist with decision-making, symptom management, patient and family support, and discharge planning for those with advanced illness. However, there is evidence to suggest that many patients dying within acute hospitals receive no specialist palliative care input. This project aimed to assess care provided to patients dying within a large Australian hospital and to understand senior clinician decision-making around referral to palliative care.