Psychological interventions for emotional well-being in adults with advanced progressive life-limiting illness.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (intervention). The objectives are as follows: To determine the benefits and harms of psychological interventions compared to treatment as usual, waiting list, active control, or another psychological intervention to improve emotional well-being in adults with an advanced progressive life-limiting illness.

The Association between Physical Environment and Externalising Problems in Typically Developing and Neurodiverse Children and Young People: A Narrative Review.

The physical environment is of critical importance to child development. Understanding how exposure to physical environmental domains such as greenspace, urbanicity, air pollution or noise affects aggressive behaviours in typical and neurodiverse children is of particular importance given the significant long-term impact of those problems. In this narrative review, we investigated the evidence for domains of the physical environment that may ameliorate or contribute to the display of aggressive behaviours.

Mu-opioid antagonists for opioid-induced bowel dysfunction in people with cancer and people receiving palliative care.

Background: Opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OIBD) is characterised by constipation, incomplete evacuation, bloating, and gastric reflux. It is one of the major adverse events (AEs) of treatment for pain in cancer and palliative care, resulting in increased morbidity and reduced quality of life. This review is a partial update of a 2008 review, and critiques as previous update (2018) trials only for people with cancer and people receiving palliative care.

How best to capture the impact of complementary therapies in palliative care: A systematic review to identify and assess the appropriateness and validity of multi-domain tools.

Background: Complementary therapies are widely used in palliative care settings. Qualitative research found that people with advanced disease report a range of physical and psychological benefits from complementary therapies, however evidence of their effectiveness from clinical trials is inconclusive. This may be because trials are limited by use of inappropriate outcome measures.

Enteral tube feeding for people with severe dementia.

Background: The balance of benefits and harms associated with enteral tube feeding for people with severe dementia is not clear. An increasing number of guidelines highlight the lack of evidenced benefit and potential risks of enteral tube feeding. In some areas of the world, the use of enteral tube feeding is decreasing, and in other areas it is increasing.

The Physical Health of Caregivers of Children With Life-Limiting Conditions: A Systematic Review.

Context: Parental caregiving for a child with a life-limiting condition (LLC) is complex physical and mental work. The impact of this caregiving on parents' physical health is unknown.

Objectives: (1) To review existing evidence on the physical health of parents caring for a child with a LLC and (2) to determine how physical health of parents is measured.

Emotional disclosure in palliative care: A scoping review of intervention characteristics and implementation factors.

Background: Emotional disclosure is the therapeutic expression of emotion. It holds potential as a means of providing psychological support. However, evidence of its efficacy in palliative settings is mixed.

Let It Out (LIO) study: protocol for a mixed-methods study to optimise the design and assess the feasibility of an online emotional disclosure-based intervention in UK hospices.

Introduction: The current COVID-19 pandemic has forced hospices to look for more ways to support people remotely, including psychological support. Emotional disclosure-based interventions hold potential as a way of providing support remotely. However, evidence of their efficacy in people with terminal illness is mixed.

Access to and adequacy of psychological services for adult patients in UK hospices: a national, cross-sectional survey.

Background: Providing psychological support to people living with terminal illness is a fundamental part of hospice care. Recent research on delivery of psychological services in hospices in the United Kingdom (UK) on a national level, including inequalities or variation in practice, is limited. A nationwide survey will highlight any differences in provision and in doing so help focus future research and inform best practice both within the UK, and internationally.

Palliative Care for Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease on the Liver Transplant Waiting List: An International Systematic Review.

People with end-stage liver disease on the liver transplant waiting list have high symptom burden, which can successfully be addressed by specialist palliative care. Potential tensions with the perceived curative nature of liver transplant make delivering specialist palliative care challenging. This systematic review seeks to establish what is known on the impact of specialist palliative care for patients on liver transplant waiting lists, healthcare professionals' perspectives of providing specialist palliative care for this population, and uptake of advance care planning (ACP).

Experience and perspectives on palliative or end-of-life care of Chinese people and their families as immigrants to high-income countries: a systematic review and thematic synthesis.

Background: A sizeable cohort of Chinese migrants in high-income non-Asian countries is reaching old age and many will develop life-limiting illnesses. They may benefit from palliative care, which is integrated into universal health coverage in many of these countries, but the uptake of this care among migrant communities remains low. Cultural differences between the Chinese and the host community, and poor language skills may be barriers to access, yet understanding the reasons hindering uptake are obscure.

Complementary therapy in palliative care: A synthesis of qualitative and quantitative systematic reviews.

Background: Interventions delivered in palliative care are complex and their evaluation through qualitative and quantitative research can lead to contrasting results. In a systematic review of trials, the effectiveness results of complementary therapies in palliative care were inconclusive; however, our qualitative synthesis showed participants perceived them to be beneficial.

Aim: Use a novel methodology to synthesise evidence from qualitative and quantitative systematic reviews on complementary therapy in palliative care to explore the following: (1) If interventions delivered in trials reflect how participants in qualitative studies report they are delivered in real-life settings and (2) whether quality of life measures used in trials capture perceived benefits that are reported in qualitative studies.

Placebo response in trials of drug treatments for cancer-related fatigue: a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most distressing symptoms experienced by patients. There is no gold standard treatment, although multiple drugs have been tested with little evidence of efficacy. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of these drugs have commented on the existence or size of the placebo response (PR).

The effectiveness of interventions to improve the care and management of people with dementia in general hospitals: A systematic review.

Background: People with dementia are at greater risk of being admitted to hospital where care may not be tailored to their needs. Interventions improving care and management are vital.

Aim: Assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve the care and management of people with dementia in hospital.

Drug therapy for delirium in terminally ill adults.

Background: Delirium is a syndrome characterised by an acute disturbance of attention and awareness which develops over a short time period and fluctuates in severity over the course of the day. It is commonly experienced during inpatient admission in the terminal phase of illness. It can cause symptoms such as agitation and hallucinations and is distressing for terminally ill people, their families and staff.

Empowering Better End-of-Life Dementia Care (EMBED-Care): A mixed methods protocol to achieve integrated person-centred care across settings.

Objectives: Globally, the number of people with dementia who have palliative care needs will increase fourfold over the next 40 years. The Empowering Better End-of-Life Dementia Care (EMBED-Care) Programme aims to deliver a step change in care through a large sequential study, spanning multiple work streams.

Methods: We will use mixed methods across settings where people with dementia live and die: their own homes, care homes, and hospitals.

The effectiveness of aromatherapy, massage and reflexology in people with palliative care needs: A systematic review.

Background: Aromatherapy, massage and reflexology are widely used in palliative care. Despite this, there are questions about their suitability for inclusion in clinical guidelines. The need to understand their benefits is a public priority, especially in light of funding pressures.

Context, mechanisms and outcomes in end-of-life care for people with advanced dementia: family carers perspective.

Background: Keeping people living with advanced dementia in their usual place of residence is becoming a key governmental goal but to achieve this, family carers and health care professionals must negotiate how to provide optimal care. Previously, we reported a realist analysis of the health care professional perspective. Here, we report on family carer perspectives.

Crisis-planning interventions for people with psychotic illness or bipolar disorder: systematic review and meta-analyses.

Background: Mental health services lack a strong evidence base on the most effective interventions to reduce compulsory admissions. However, some research suggests a positive impact of crisis-planning interventions in which patients are involved in planning for their future care during a mental health crisis.

Aims: This review aimed to synthesise randomised controlled trial (RCT) evidence on the effectiveness of crisis-planning interventions (for example advance statements and joint crisis plans) in reducing rates of compulsory hospital admissions for people with psychotic illness or bipolar disorder, compared with usual care (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42018084808).

Emotional disclosure as a therapeutic intervention in palliative care: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Emotional disclosure (ED) is a term used to describe the therapeutic expression of emotion. ED underlies a variety of therapies aimed at improving well-being for various populations, including people with palliative-stage disease and their family carers. Systematic reviews of ED-based psychotherapy have largely focused on expressive writing as a way of generating ED.

Aromatherapy, massage and reflexology: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of the perspectives from people with palliative care needs.

Background: Effectiveness evidence of complementary therapies in people with advanced disease is uncertain, and yet people are still keen to engage in complementary therapy. Insights into people's experiences of complementary therapy in palliative care, the perceived benefits, and how they want it delivered, can inform clinical guidelines and suggest ways to test therapies more appropriately in future evaluations.

Aims: Explore in people with advanced disease (1) the experiences and perceptions of benefits and harms of aromatherapy, massage, and reflexology and (2) how they would like these therapies delivered.

Do interventions that include education on dementia progression improve knowledge, mental health and burden of family carers? A systematic review.

Background And Aim: The European Association of Palliative Care recommends that family carers need education on the progression of dementia. This systematic review aimed to explore whether interventions incorporating education regarding the progressive nature of dementia increased carers' understanding of dementia and improved mental health and burden.

Method: MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched to April 2018.

Conversion therapies and access to transition-related healthcare in transgender people: a narrative systematic review.

Objectives: Conversion is a term for treatments that seek to suppress or change a person's sexual orientation or gender. Our review focuses on transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people. Our aims were to (1) describe the frequency, nature and structure of conversion practices; (2) document difficulties in accessing transition-related healthcare and (3) evaluate the mental health consequences of such practices and access barriers.