Do physicians discuss end-of-life decisions with family members? A mortality follow-back study.

Objective: Deaths from chronic illness are often preceded by a potentially life-shortening end-of-life decision (ELD). Involving family in these ELDs may have psychosocial benefits for them and the dying person. This study aims to examine how often ELDs are discussed with relatives of the dying person and which characteristics determine their involvement in those ELDs.

Does using the interRAI Palliative Care instrument reduce the needs and symptoms of nursing home residents receiving palliative care?

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether using the interRAI Palliative Care instrument (the interRAI PC) in nursing homes is associated with reduced needs and symptoms in residents nearing the end of their lives.

Method: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study using the Palliative care Outcome Scale (POS) was conducted to compare the needs and symptoms of residents nearing the end of their lives in the control and intervention nursing homes. Care professionals at the intervention nursing homes filled out the interRAI PC over the course of a year for all residents aged 65 years and older who were nearing the end of their lives.

Palliative care needs and symptoms of nursing home residents with and without dementia: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: The aims of the present study were: (i) to describe palliative care needs and symptoms of older adults anticipated to be in the last year of their life in Flemish nursing homes (Belgium); and (ii) to evaluate whether these needs differ between residents with and without dementia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2014. Nurses and nursing assistants in 15 Flemish nursing homes (Belgium) completed the Palliative care Outcome Scale for 109 residents with palliative care needs.

Usefulness, feasibility and face validity of the interRAI Palliative Care instrument according to care professionals in nursing homes: A qualitative study.

Background: Nursing homes are important locations for palliative care. High quality palliative care requires an evaluation of the different care needs of the nursing home residents. The interRAI Palliative Care instrument is a comprehensive assessment that evaluates the needs and preferences of adults receiving palliative care.

Agitation in dementia and the role of spatial and sensory interventions: experiences of professional and family caregivers.

Aim: There is a growing interest in environmental interventions to complement the psychosocial approaches to cope with agitation in dementia. The aim of this study was to present this evidence from literature and research to care practitioners and family carers in order to gather their reflections. In this way, we can identify experienced gaps in care practice and define needs for further research.

Study protocol for 'we DECide': implementation of advance care planning for nursing home residents with dementia.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of 'we DECide', an educational intervention for nursing home staff on shared decision-making in the context of advance care planning for residents with dementia.

Background: Advance care planning (preparing care choices for when persons no longer have decision-making capacity) is of utmost importance for nursing home residents with dementia, but is mostly not realized for this group. Advance care planning consists of discussing care choices and making decisions and corresponds to shared decision-making (the involvement of persons and their families in care and treatment decisions).

Informed palliative care in nursing homes through the interRAI Palliative Care instrument: a study protocol based on the Medical Research Council framework.

Background: Nursing homes are important locations for palliative care. Through comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGAs), evaluations can be made of palliative care needs of nursing home residents. The interRAI Palliative Care instrument (interRAI PC) is a CGA that evaluates diverse palliative care needs of adults in all healthcare settings.

A comparative analysis of comprehensive geriatric assessments for nursing home residents receiving palliative care: a systematic review.

Background/objectives: Nursing homes become important locations for palliative care. By means of comprehensive geriatric assessments (CGAs), an evaluation can be made of the different palliative care needs of nursing home residents. This review aims to identify all CGAs that can be used to assess palliative care needs in long-term care settings and that have been validated for nursing home residents receiving palliative care.

Family caregiver perspectives on social relations of elderly residents with dementia in small-scale versus traditional long-term care settings in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Aims And Objectives: To provide insight into family caregiver perspectives on social relations within the 'caregiving triangle' between family caregiver, professional caregiver and elderly resident with dementia. Results were compared between traditional versus small-scale long-term care settings in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Background: Residential dementia care is shifting towards a more holistic and person-centred approach.

The quality of the caregiving relationship in informal care for older adults with dementia and chronic psychiatric patients.

The present study focuses on the dyadic relationship between a family carer and a patient. Besides clarifying the quality of the caregiving relationship in two populations of chronically ill patients, this investigation examines whether patient characteristics, carer characteristics and network characteristics are predictive of relationship quality in dementia caregiving. Partners, children or children-in-law caring for a relative suffering from dementia (N = 144) and partners or parents of persons suffering from chronic mental illness (N = 77) were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire.