What Does "Palliative" Mean? Sentiment, Knowledge, and Public Perception Concerning Palliative Care on the Internet since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Little is known about the public perception of palliative care during and after the pandemic. Assuming that analyzing online language data has the potential to collect real-time public opinions, an analysis of large online datasets can be beneficial to guide future policymaking.

Objectives: To identify long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public perception of palliative care and palliative care-related misconceptions on the Internet (worldwide) through natural language processing (NLP).

Contactless radar-based heart rate estimation in palliative care - a feasibility study and possible use in symptom management.

Background: Heart rate (HR) monitoring is a medical standard to provide information about a patient's health status. In palliative care, relationship and social engagement are crucial therapeutic concepts. For fear of disrupting communication, social contact, and care, continuous HR monitoring is underutilised despite its potential to inform on symptom burden and therapeutic effects.

Dementia patients in palliative care according to data from the German National Hospice and Palliative Care Register (2009-2021).

Background: People with dementia are less in focus of palliative care research than other patient groups even though the awareness of their palliative and end-of-life care needs is rising. Empirical data analyses on people with dementia in palliative care services are lacking.

Aim: To explore the prevalence of dementia diagnoses as per the ICD criteria among users of various palliative care settings and to compare use of palliative services, care pathways, and outcomes in people with and without a dementia diagnosis.

Non-kin caregivers of terminally ill people: Contributions, experiences, and needs: A protocol for a mixed-methods study.

Background: The role of non-kin caregivers, such as friends, neighbours, and acquaintances, in providing end-of-life care is significant but often overlooked in research and policy discussions. These caregivers provide extensive support for individuals in end-of-life care, in addition to or instead of family members. However, there is limited evidence in the literature regarding the experiences, burdens, and benefits of non-kin caregivers.

Symptom burden and relief in palliative care units of German Comprehensive Cancer Center and other hospitals.

Purpose: The National Hospice and Palliative Registry contains patient data from German hospice and palliative care facilities about symptoms. The aim of the study at hand is to differentiate symptom burden of patients in palliative care units between Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) and other hospitals regarding symptom burden and relief of patients in palliative care units.

Methods: The registry analysis provided data of patients in palliative care units (2014-2018).

Interrater agreement of multi-professional case review as reference standard for specialist palliative care need: a mixed-methods study.

Background: A wide variety of screening tools for the need for specialist palliative care (SPC) have been proposed for the use in oncology. However, as there is no established reference standard for SPC need to compare their results with, their sensitivity and specificity have not yet been determined. The aim of the study was to explore whether SPC need assessment by means of multi-professional case review has sufficient interrater agreement to be employed as a reference standard.

Expert-approved best practice recommendations on the use of sedative drugs and intentional sedation in specialist palliative care (SedPall).

Background: The use of sedative drugs and intentional sedation in end-of-life care is associated with clinical, ethical and legal challenges. In view of these and of the issue's great importance to patients undergoing intolerable suffering, we conducted a project titled SedPall ("From anxiolysis to deep continuous sedation - Development of recommendations for sedation in palliative care") with the purpose of developing best practice recommendations on the use of sedative drugs and intentional sedation in specialist palliative care and obtaining feedback and approval from experts in this area.

Design: Our stepwise approach entailed drafting the recommendations, obtaining expert feedback, conducting a single-round Delphi study, and convening a consensus conference.

Palliative care as a digital working world (PALLADiUM) - A mixed-method research protocol.

Background: In Palliative Care, actors from different professional backgrounds work together and exchange case-specific and expert knowledge and information. Since Palliative Care is traditionally distant from digitalization due to its holistically person-centered approach, there is a lack of suitable concepts enabling digitalization regarding multi-professional team processes. Yet, a digitalised information and collaboration environment geared to the requirements of palliative care and the needs of the members of the multi-professional team might facilitate communication and collaboration processes and improve information and knowledge flows.

Documentation of Sedation in Palliative Care: A Scoping Review of Requirements, Recommendations, and Templates.

To identify and describe requirements, recommendations, and templates for the documentation of sedation in adult palliative care. International literature shows inconsistency in clinical practice regarding sedation in palliative care accompanied by legal, ethical, and medical uncertainties. Documentation in general serves as proof for previous treatments.

Palliative care and new technologies. The use of smart sensor technologies and its impact on the Total Care principle.

Background: Palliative care is an integral part of health care, which in term has become increasingly technologized in recent decades. Lately, innovative smart sensors combined with artificial intelligence promise better diagnosis and treatment. But to date, it is unclear: how are palliative care concepts and their underlying assumptions about humans challenged by smart sensor technologies (SST) and how can care benefit from SST?

Aims: The paper aims to identify changes and challenges in palliative care due to the use of SST.

Development of a national strategy with recommendations for the care of seriously ill and dying people and their relatives in pandemics: A modified Delphi study.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a constant challenge for health care systems, also in Germany. Care of seriously ill and dying people and their relatives is often neglected and suffering increased due to sub-optimal symptom management, visiting restrictions and lonely dying. The project "Palliative Care in Pandemics (PallPan)" intended to develop a national strategy including evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for the care of seriously ill and dying people and their relatives during pandemic times in Germany.

COVID-19: Challenges and solutions for the provision of care to seriously ill and dying people and their relatives during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic - perspectives of pandemic response team members: A qualitative study on the basis of expert interviews (part of PallPan).

Background: During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic's initial waves, bans on visiting and isolation measures placed limits on providing services for seriously ill and dying people and their relatives. Pandemic response teams at governmental level (macro), at federal state and municipal level (meso) and in healthcare facilities (micro) played their role in pandemic management procedures.

Aim: To explore pandemic-related challenges and solutions of pandemic response teams regarding the provision of care to seriously ill and dying people and their relatives.

Possible age-related differences in healthcare professionals' perspectives on younger and older patients' autonomy and decision-making in the context of sedation in specialised palliative care: exploratory secondary qualitative content and linguistic conversation analysis of interviews with healthcare professionals.

Background: Chronic illnesses and multi-morbidity can threaten competence and independence, particularly in old age. Autonomy becomes increasingly important in the context of sedation, as in this case medication leads to (further) changes of consciousness. The study aimed to identify possible age-related differences in the perspectives of healthcare professionals on patients' autonomy, in the context of sedation in specialised palliative care.

[COVID-19 pandemic response teams: organization, competencies, and challenges-understanding and using structural realities].

Background And Aim: Germany has a federal state system. Pandemic response teams are key instruments of pandemic management. The aim of this article is to describe the structures and powers of pandemic response teams that were explored during a study on the care of the critically ill and dying in times of a pandemic (PallPan).

Intercountry and intracountry variations in opinions of palliative care specialist physicians in Germany, Italy, Japan and UK about continuous use of sedatives: an international cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: To explore intercountry and intracountry differences in physician opinions about continuous use of sedatives (CUS), and factors associated with their approval of CUS.

Settings: Secondary analysis of a questionnaire study.

Participants: Palliative care physicians in Germany (N=273), Italy (N=198), Japan (N=334) and the UK (N=111).

[Health- and disease-related data of inpatients in palliative care units of the Comprehensive Cancer Centers and other hospitals in comparison-Data from the Hospice and Palliative Care Register].

Background: The National Hospice and Palliative Registry is a database for palliative care facilities documenting a core data set for quality assurance and scientific evaluations.

Objectives: The study aims identifying differences between patients in palliative care units treated in Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCC) or other hospitals (OH) focussing on sociodemographic and health/disease-related characteristics.

Methods: Descriptive data analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics 21 included patients treated from 2014 to 2018.

Improving Dyspnoea Symptom Control of Patients in Palliative Care Using a Smart Patch-A Proof of Concept Study.

The world of healthcare constantly aims to improve the lives of people while nurturing their health and comfort. Digital health and wearable technologies are aimed at making this possible. However, there are numerous factors that need to be addressed such as aging, disabilities, and health hazards.

[Support for and involvement of family caregivers in Comprehensive Cancer Center - an Assessment of the Palliative Care Working Group within the network of Comprehensive Cancer Center funded by the German Cancer Aid].

Background: According to current oncological guidelines, early integration of specialist palliative care (SPC) represents standard cancer care supporting not only the patients, but also their family caregivers. Data on the actual implementation in daily oncology practice in Germany are lacking.

Methods: The Palliative Care Working Group of the network of Comprehensive Cancer Centers certified by the German Cancer Aid (CCC) assessed the implementation of measures for family caregiver support and involvement within the CCC/within SPC in the CCC/local outside the CCC in all 17 CCC locations.

Physicians' Opinion and Practice With the Continuous Use of Sedatives in the Last Days of Life.

Context: There are few international studies about the continuous use of sedatives (CUS) in the last days of life.

Objectives: We aim to describe the experiences and opinions regarding CUS of physicians caring for terminally ill patients in seven countries.

Methods: Questionnaire study about practices and experiences with CUS in the last days of life among physicians caring for terminally ill patients in Belgium (n = 175), Germany (n = 546), Italy (n = 214), Japan (n = 513), the Netherlands (n = 829), United Kingdom (n = 114) and Singapore (n = 21).

Screening for Palliative Care Needs: Pilot Data From German Comprehensive Cancer Centers.

Purpose: Guidelines recommend several screening tools to identify patients with complex palliative needs. This diversity and lack of structural recommendations offer a wide scope for implementing screening. Against this background, the current status of implementation at German Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCCs) funded by the German Cancer Aid has not yet been investigated.

Hospital end-of-life care: families' free-text notes.

Background: Palliative care strives to improve quality of life for patients with incurable diseases. This approach includes adequate support of the patients' loved ones. Consequently, loved ones have personal experiences of providing end-of-life care for their next.

[Patient and public involvement (PPI) in palliative care research].

Background: Patient and public participation in health research is of increasing social importance. The participation of citizens (patients, their next or interested parties) is not yet structurally anchored in Germany. This manuscript aims to present and to discuss first experiences with patient and public involvement in two palliative care centers.