Hearing the voices of looked-after children: Considering the challenges of obtaining feedback on healthcare services.

The voices of looked-after children (LAC) are rarely heard in health services or research. Obtaining feedback on services from children and adolescents and involving them in decision-making is important; yet communicating with vulnerable groups, like LAC, is not straightforward. Improving communication practices and ways of gaining feedback can facilitate quality improvement across healthcare.

Does involving volunteers in the provision of palliative care make a difference to patient and family wellbeing? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative evidence.

Context: Despite the extent of volunteers' contribution to palliative care, and their role in direct patient care, there has been no systematic evaluation of the evidence-base on volunteers in relation to patient and family wellbeing.

Objective: To critically review research, on the impact of volunteers involved in the direct care of palliative patients and their families.

Methods: We searched for studies, reporting patient and family data on the impact of volunteer services in palliative care in thirteen citation databases up to May 2013.

Guidance on the management of pain in older people.

This guidance document reviews the epidemiology and management of pain in older people via a literature review of published research. The aim of this document is to inform health professionals in any care setting who work with older adults on best practice for the management of pain and to identify where there are gaps in the evidence that require further research. The assessment of pain in older people has not been covered within this guidance and can be found in a separate document (http://www.