Development and Implementation of a Survey to Assess Health-Care Provider's Competency, Attitudes, and Knowledge About Perinatal Palliative Care.

Perinatal palliative care is an emerging area of health care. To date, no published tools assess health-care provider's knowledge and level of comfort in providing such care. A 2-phase study was undertaken to develop and implement a survey to evaluate the self-assessed competency, attitudes, and knowledge of health-care providers working in perinatal palliative care.

A descriptive study evaluating perinatal healthcare providers' perspectives of palliative programming in 3 Canadian institutions.

A paucity of research has evaluated the perspectives of the broader healthcare team regarding perinatal palliative care. This study examines the views of healthcare providers involved in perinatal palliative care in 3 tertiary care hospitals in Canada. Developing an understanding of their perspectives of care provision, as well as the interactions that took place with families and other teams while providing perinatal palliative care, was of interest.

Methotrimeprazine for the management of end-of-life symptoms in infants and children.

Objective: This retrospective chart review assessed the efficacy, dose, and safety of methotrimeprazine in palliating end-of-life symptoms in children and infants.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted of 18 hospitalized pediatric patients who were treated with methotrimeprazine in their last two weeks of life. Data collected included age, diagnosis, symptoms, methotrimeprazine dose, route, efficacy, and any documented adverse effects.

Intranasal fentanyl in the palliative care of newborns and infants.

Context: Perinatal palliative care is an area of increasing focus among clinicians supporting newborns and their families. Although not every newborn will survive the neonatal period, assuring their comfort and quality of life remains an imperative for their care providers. It can be challenging to administer medications such as opioids in a minimally invasive yet effective manner.

Sleeping with one eye open: the sleep experience of family members providing palliative care at home.

Purpose: To empirically describe the sleep experience of family caregivers (n=13) of advanced cancer patients.

Method: Mixed methodology using: family interviews; Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS); Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); and actigraphy measurement. Qualitative data analysis utilized constant comparative content techniques.

Family beliefs regarding the nutritional care of a terminally ill relative: a qualitative study.

Objective: To develop a conceptual model of family caregiver beliefs and behavior related to nutritional care of the terminally ill by examining the perspectives of family members, patients, and health care providers.

Design: Qualitative study using in-depth, open-ended, face to face interviews, participant observation, and content analysis.

Participants: A total of 47 participants from 4 groups: hospitalized palliative patients with cancer (n = 13), family members of hospitalized palliative patients with cancer (n = 13), health care providers on a palliative care unit (n = 11), and bereaved family members who had previously experienced the death of a relative on a palliative care unit.