Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Palliative Care Unit Utilization: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Context: People with noncancer diagnoses have poorer access to palliative care units (PCUs) or hospices compared to those with cancer diagnoses. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted how specialist palliative care services were delivered and utilized.

Objective: To determine the association between the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and PCU/hospice utilization in hospitalized individuals with cancer and noncancer diagnoses with specialist palliative care needs.

Challenges in nursing care for patients with cancer and severe mental illness: A case report.

Patients with severe mental illness often present with more advanced cancer at diagnosis, experience poorer quality of care, receive fewer medical treatments, have higher overall disease mortality, and are less likely to access timely palliative care when compared to patients without severe mental illness. Research findings have shown that early involvement of specialized palliative care services for patients with advanced cancer improves quality of life, increases satisfaction with care, and mitigates depression. This case study will highlight the spectrum of challenges in caring for patients with a severe mental illness and advanced cancer from the perspective of an inpatient palliative care consult team.

Palliative care Advanced Practice Nurse role in engaging in serious illness conversations.

Having advanced care planning conversations with patients and/or their substitute decision maker has been shown to lead to many benefits, including aligning a patient's priorities and health expectations with his or her wishes. Typically, these conversations have been held with physicians, but have evolved over time to also be incorporated into the roles of other healthcare professionals. Advanced practice nurses who are trained to use a framework or an approach when having such conversations has been shown to have merit.

Continuous Ambulatory Delivery Device Use for Patients Managed by an Inpatient Palliative Care Team.

Background: The use of Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) via a Continuous Ambulatory Delivery Device (CADD) is a common and effective means of pain and symptom management for hospitalized patients with a malignancy. Studies exploring the indications for starting such a device for hospitalized inpatients referred to inpatient palliative care teams are limited.

Aim: This retrospective chart review aims to explore indications, timing of initiation, and barriers to the use of a CADD.