Clinical applicability of proposed algorithm for identifying individuals at risk for hereditary hematologic malignancies.

Multiple genes have been identified to cause hereditary predispositions to hematologic malignancies, and characterized by an increased risk to develop myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and/or aplastic anemia (AA). Referral algorithms for patients who may be at higher risk have been proposed, with limited data regarding applicability. Our study aimed to evaluate referral criteria on a population of MDS/AML/AA patients.

Correlates of a good death and the impact of hospice involvement: findings from the national survey of households affected by cancer.

Purpose: Knowing how to improve the dying experience for patients with end-stage cancer is essential for cancer professionals. However, there is little evidence on the relationship between clinically relevant factors and quality of death. Also, while hospice has been linked with improved outcomes, our understanding of factors that contribute to a "good death" when hospice is involved remains limited.

Validation of the Quality of Dying-Hospice Scale.

Context: Measuring the quality of dying (QOD) experience is important for hospice providers. However, few instruments exist that assess one's QOD; and those that do have not been well validated in hospice.

Objectives: This study tested the properties of the QOD-Hospice Scale (QOD-Hospice) to provide preliminary validation data on internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, convergent validity, and factorability in a hospice setting.