Symptom and problem burden, performance status and palliative care phases in specialist palliative care: cross-sectional analysis of care episodes.

Objectives: Palliative care phases (stable, unstable, deteriorating, terminal and bereavement) are useful in describing the palliative care situation of patients/relatives and their care needs as well as the suitability of care plans. Little is known about care setting-specific differences of the phases and their association with burden of symptoms/problems and functional status. We aimed to describe the presence and association of symptom/problem burden and functional status with the palliative care phase at the beginning of care episodes in specialist palliative care units, specialist home care teams and advisory services.

"Being an informal caregiver - strengthening resources": mixed methods evaluation of a psychoeducational intervention supporting informal caregivers in palliative care.

Background: Informal caregivers are key support for patients with progressive incurable diseases. However, their own needs often remain unmet. Therefore, we developed, manualised and implemented the intervention "Being an informal caregiver - strengthening resources" aiming to support and empower informal caregivers by addressing relevant information-related, physical, psychological and social needs.

More than the sum of its parts-A constructivist grounded-theory study on specialist palliative care during crises like the COVID pandemic.

Background: The COVID pandemic is an example of a crisis challenging healthcare systems worldwide. The impact of the pandemic on providing high-quality palliative care calls for a deeper understanding of specialist services during crises. This is essential in preparation for further crises.

Symptom and problem clusters in German specialist palliative home care - a factor analysis of non-oncological and oncological patients' symptom burden.

Background: Specialist palliative home care (SPHC) aims to maintain and improve patients' quality of life in the community setting. Symptom burden may differ between oncological and non-oncological patients. However, little is known about diagnosis-related differences of SPHC patients.

Importance of interdisciplinarity in modern oncology: results of a national intergroup survey of the Young Oncologists United (YOU).

Purpose: Modern, personalized treatment concepts in oncology require an interdisciplinary and multiprofessional collaboration. In addition to its relevance in patient care, interdisciplinary collaboration is also becoming increasingly important in clinical research as well as medical education and resident training in oncology.

Methods: Between November 2021 and March 2022, an online survey was conducted among German early career research groups, represented by Young Oncologists United (YOU).

Looking back: Identifying supportive care and unmet needs of parents of children receiving specialist paediatric palliative care from the bereavement perspective.

Background: This study examined care needs and utilisation of psychosocial support services among parents of children who had received specialist paediatric palliative care, as well as the relationship between need fulfilment and grief. Possible differences between parents of children who died of cancer versus a non-cancer disease were explored.

Methods: This exploratory study, conducted in two specialist paediatric palliative care facilities, included parents who had lost a child within a period of 0.

Specialist palliative care classification: typology development.

Objectives: The heterogeneity of specialist palliative care services requires a classification to enable a clear description and comparison. In Germany, specialist palliative care is provided by palliative care units, palliative care advisory teams in hospitals and palliative home care teams. The differentiation between the three care settings can serve as a first level of classification.

COMPANION: development of a patient-centred complexity and casemix classification for adult palliative care patients based on needs and resource use - a protocol for a cross-sectional multi-centre study.

Background: A casemix classification based on patients' needs can serve to better describe the patient group in palliative care and thus help to develop adequate future care structures and enable national benchmarking and quality control. However, in Germany, there is no such an evidence-based system to differentiate the complexity of patients' needs in palliative care. Therefore, the study aims to develop a patient-oriented, nationally applicable complexity and casemix classification for adult palliative care patients in Germany.

How does spirituality manifest in family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients? A qualitative secondary analysis.

Objective: Considering the risk of spiritual distress among terminally ill patients, experts long agree that spiritual care has to be an integral component of palliative care. Despite this consensus, the role of spirituality among family caregivers remains largely unexplored. We aimed to describe how spirituality manifests in the lived experience of family caregivers (FCs) in a palliative care context.