Palliative care is now emerging as an integrated part of mainstream health care delivery. The importance of patient choice regarding place of dying means that a substantial proportion of palliative care provision occurs in community settings. In part, this is due to the inappropriateness of the acute hospital setting for the care of dying patients. However, most patients with cancer and other terminal illnesses are diagnosed and treated in acute hospitals. Acute hospitals are also the most common setting where people actually die. Therefore, there remains a need for skilled and compassionate provision for the care of dying patients in the acute hospital setting. This paper presents a case for the provision of palliative care services in teaching hospitals. It further argues that a high level of integration between cancer treatment services and palliative care services is needed to optimize the care of cancer patients.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/026921601678576194 | DOI Listing |
BMC Palliat Care
January 2025
Department of Nursing, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, No. 599 Dayang East Road, Linhai, Zhejiang, 317000, China.
Background: Delirium frequently occurs in palliative care settings, yet its screening, identification, and management remain suboptimal in clinical practice. This review aims to elucidate the barriers preventing healthcare professionals from effectively screening, recognizing, and managing delirium in adult patients receiving specialist palliative care, with the goal of developing strategies to enhance clinical practice.
Methods: A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted (PROSPERO: CRD42024563666).
BMC Palliat Care
January 2025
Palliative Care Unit, National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Objective: To compare the sociodemographic and clinical profiles of patients with advanced cancer admitted to a tertiary palliative care unit before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This is an analysis of data from patients receiving care before (10/21/2019 to 03/16/2020) and during (09/23/2020 to 08/26/2021) the COVID-19 pandemic. Sociodemographic and clinical data were evaluated.
BMC Palliat Care
January 2025
Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada.
Background: While an extensive body of research in palliative care exists on the experiences of grief and bereavement among family caregivers, much of this research is based on normative assumptions of who family caregivers are - housed, financially stable, and with extended family and/or friends to draw on for support. Research shows that in contexts of social disadvantage(e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Cancer
January 2025
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Background: People with malignancy of undefined primary origin (MUO) have a poor prognosis and may undergo a protracted diagnostic workup causing patient distress and high cancer related costs. Not having a primary diagnosis limits timely site-specific treatment and access to precision medicine. There is a need to improve the diagnostic process, and healthcare delivery and support for these patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBr J Gen Pract
January 2025
University of Nottingham School of Health Sciences, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Background A growing literature examines the way two changes in primary care - the shift towards remote working, and the diversification of practice teams to incorporate, for instance, physician associates and paramedics - affect patient care within the practice. However, little is known about these changes' effects on community nurses. Aim To explore community nurses' experiences of delivering palliative care in the context of GPs' new ways of working.
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