Feasibility of a digital palliative care intervention (Convoy-Pal) for older adults with heart failure and multiple chronic conditions and their caregivers: a waitlist randomized control trial.

Background: Although older adults with heart failure (HF) and multiple chronic conditions (MCC) frequently rely on caregivers for health management, digital health systems, such as patient portals and mobile apps, are designed for individual patients and often exclude caregivers. There is a need to develop approaches that integrate caregivers into care. This study tested the feasibility of the Social Convoy Palliative Care intervention (Convoy-Pal), a 12-week digital self-management program that includes assessment tools and resources for clinical palliative care, designed for both patients and their caregivers.

Palliative Care Research and Clinical Practice Priorities in the United States as Identified by an Interdisciplinary Modified Delphi Approach.

Palliative care demands in the United States are growing amid a comparatively small workforce of palliative care clinicians and researchers. Therefore, determining research and clinical practice priorities is essential for streamlining initiatives to advance palliative care science and practice. To identify and rank palliative care research and clinical practice priority areas through expert consensus.

The Association of Unmet Palliative Care Needs and Physical Frailty With Clinical Outcomes: A Prospective Study of Adults With Heart Failure.

Background: People with heart failure, particularly those who are physically frail, experience complex needs that can be addressed by palliative care (PC). However, we have a limited understanding of how the intersection of unmet PC needs and physical frailty contributes to health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and risk for hospitalization or mortality.

Objective: In this study, we sought to examine the association of unmet PC needs and physical frailty with clinical outcomes (baseline HRQOL and hospitalizations or mortality at 6 months).

Relationship Status and Quality Are Associated With Perceived Benefits of Caregiving for People With Heart Failure.

Background: "Benefit finding" is a strengths-based strategy for coping with medical illness that may be particularly useful for caregivers of people with heart failure given the highly fluctuating disease course.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate benefit finding's association with the caregiver-care recipient relationship, depression, and burden at baseline and longitudinally.

Methods: This is a longitudinal observational study of caregivers' benefit finding, relationship quality, depression, and burden.

Advance Care Planning and Palliative Care Consultation in Kidney Transplantation.

Rationale & Objective: Because of the high risk of waitlist mortality and posttransplant complications, kidney transplant (KT) patients may benefit from advance care planning (ACP) and palliative care consultation (PCC). We quantified the prevalence and racial disparities in ACP and PCC among KT candidates and recipients.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.