Returning to Work After Cancer Treatment: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study Guided by Transitions Theory.

Background: Although many individuals return to work after cancer treatment, supports to facilitate this transition are ineffective or lacking. Transitions Theory can be useful to conceptually explain the transition back to work after cancer; however, no known studies have used Transitions Theory to empirically examine this transition.

Objective: To explore how and why Transition Theory concepts can be used to understand individuals' transition back to work after cancer treatment.

Point-of-care ultrasound in palliative medicine residency programs: report of a national survey and local workshop.

Purpose: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is used in various clinical specialties to improve diagnostic and procedural accuracy and has many potential applications in palliative care. However, it is unclear what is the current state of training and use of POCUS in palliative care in Canada. Our objectives were to understand the current state of training and use of POCUS in Canadian Palliative Medicine subspecialty residency programs and to develop and implement a local training workshop for POCUS in palliative care.

Trajectories of Health Care Contact Days for Patients With Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Importance: Patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) experience substantial morbidity and mortality. Contact days (ie, the number of days with health care contact outside the home) measure how much of a person's life is consumed by health care, yet little is known about patterns of contact days for patients with NSCLC.

Objective: To describe the trajectories of contact days in patients with stage IV NSCLC and how trajectories vary by receipt of cancer-directed treatment in routine practice.

Care Coordination Between Family Physicians and Palliative Care Physicians for Patients With Cancer: Results of a Quality Improvement Initiative.

Purpose: At our institution's cancer palliative care (PC) clinic, new referrals from oncologists were scheduled for consultation and ongoing follow-up by PC physicians without input from the patients' family physicians (FPs). FPs reported that they felt out of the loop. We implemented a quality improvement (QI) initiative aimed at systematically facilitating care coordination between FPs and PC physicians.

Pharmacovigilance in hospice/palliative care: Net effect of amitriptyline or nortriptyline on neuropathic pain: UTS/IMPACCT Rapid programme international consecutive cohort.

Background: Real-world effectiveness of interventions in palliative care need to be systematically quantified to inform patient/clinical decisions. Neuropathic pain is prevalent and difficult to palliate. Tricyclic antidepressants have an established role for some neuropathic pain aetiologies, but this is less clear in palliative care.

Developing and Implementing a Web-Based Psychotherapy Program to Address Mental Health Challenges Among Patients Receiving Oncologic and Palliative Care: Protocol for an Open-Label Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The demand for mental health care, particularly for depression and anxiety, is 3-fold greater among patients receiving oncologic and palliative care than for the general population. This population faces unique barriers, making them more susceptible to mental health challenges. Various forms of psychotherapy have been deemed effective in addressing mental health challenges in this population, including supportive psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, problem-based therapy, and mindfulness; however, their access to traditional face-to-face psychotherapy resources is limited owing to their immunocompromised status, making frequent hospital visits dangerous.

Coping during COVID-19: a mixed methods study of older cancer survivors.

Purpose: Older cancer survivors are among the most vulnerable to the negative effects of COVID-19 and may need specific survivorship supports that are unavailable/restricted during the pandemic. The objective of this study was to explore how older adults (≥ 60 years) who were recently (≤ 12 months) discharged from the care of their cancer team were coping during the pandemic.

Methods: We used a convergent mixed method design (QUAL+quan).

Older survivors of cancer in the COVID-19 pandemic: Reflections and recommendations for future care.

Purpose: Although the year after cancer treatment is challenging for all cancer survivors, older adults (≥60 years) face additional challenges due to age-related decline and high rates of comorbidity. There is a paucity of research on how health service interruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the experience of older cancer survivors. In this study we explore older cancer survivors' reflections on the pandemic and their suggestions for future care delivery when traditionally offered resources are not available.

Parental attitudes regarding analgesic use for children: differences in ethnicity and language.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the impact of ethnicity and language on parental attitudes regarding analgesic use to treat children's pain.

Methods: A total of 206 parents of children undergoing outpatient surgery were recruited to complete the Medication Attitudes Questionnaire, a measure of parental beliefs about using analgesic medications to treat children's pain. Parents were grouped into one of 3 categories according to ethnicity and primary language spoken: English-speaking white, English-speaking Hispanic, and Spanish-speaking Hispanic.

Desire for perioperative information and parental ethnicity.

Objectives: To examine the role of ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic variables in parental desire for information regarding children's surgery.

Aim:   To compare anesthetic and surgical information desired between English- and Spanish-speaking White and Hispanic mothers of children undergoing outpatient surgery.

Background:   Parents report wanting to receive detailed information regarding children's preoperative care; however, variables such as parent ethnicity and language spoken have not been accounted for in understanding desire for information.