Background: A disproportionate number of COVID-19-related deaths in Canada occurred in long-term care homes, affecting residents, families and staff alike. This study explored the experiences of long-term care clinicians with respect to providing palliative and end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: We used a qualitative research approach. Long-term care physicians and nurse practitioners (NPs) in Ontario, Canada, participated in semistructured interviews between August and September of 2021. Interviews were undertaken virtually, and results were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: Twelve clinicians (7 physicians and 5 NPs) were interviewed. We identified 5 themes, each with several subthemes: providing a palliative approach to care, increased work demands and changing roles, communication and collaboration, impact of isolation and visitation restrictions, and impact on the providers' personal lives. Clinicians described facing several concurrent challenges, including the uncertainty of COVID-19 illness, staffing and supply shortages, witnessing many deaths, and distress caused by isolation. These resulted in burnout and feelings of moral distress. Previous training and integration of the palliative care approach in the long-term care home, access to resources, increased communication and interprofessional collaboration, and strong leadership mitigated the impact and led to improved palliative care and a sense of pride while facing these challenges.
Interpretation: The pandemic had a considerable impact on clinicians caring for residents in long-term care homes at the end of life. It is important to address these lived experiences and use the lessons learned to identify strategies to improve palliative care in long-term care homes and reduce the impact of future pandemics with respect to palliative care.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20220238 | DOI Listing |
JAMA Surg
December 2024
Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.
Importance: Surgical quality improvement efforts have largely focused on 30-day outcomes, such as readmissions and complications. Surgery may have a sustained impact on the health and quality of life of patients considered frail, yet data are lacking on the long-term health care utilization of patients with frailty following surgery.
Objective: To examine the independent association of preoperative frailty on long-term health care utilization (up to 24 months) following surgery.
Scand J Pain
January 2024
Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Jan Waldenströms Gata 35, 202 13 Malmö, Sweden.
Objectives: The efficacy of long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) in treating patients with chronic non-cancer pain (CnCP) is questionable, and the potential risks of adverse effects are well established. The aims were as follows: (1) compare characteristics in patients exposed to LTOT vs non-exposed. (2) Regarding opioid-exposed patients, describe characteristics of patients with risk factors for opioid use disorder or overdose in relation to opioid dosage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Manag Care Spec Pharm
December 2024
Health Economics and Value Assessment, Sanofi, Boston, MA.
Background: Immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) is a rare, life-threatening thrombotic microangiopathy. Caplacizumab is the only treatment approved by the European Medicines Agency and the US Food and Drug Administration for iTTP, to be given in combination with plasma exchange therapy (PEX) and immunosuppression (IS). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's independent appraisal committee assessed the cost-effectiveness of caplacizumab and concluded that the addition of caplacizumab to PEX+IS is cost-effective under a patient access scheme in the United Kingdom.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Diabetes Res
December 2024
Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Grafton 1142, Auckland, New Zealand.
In utero exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with adverse long-term outcomes. Little is known about how mothers perceive these outcomes and the support they need for optimal outcomes for their children. We aimed to explore how women perceive the risk of adverse outcomes for their children exposed to GDM and the support they require for their optimal health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Cardiol Congenit Heart Dis
March 2024
Service of Cardiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Since the late 1980s, the standard approach for treating D-transposition of the great arteries has been the arterial switch operation (ASO), replacing the Mustard/Senning procedure. Although ASO has shown impressive long-term survival rates, recent case series have revealed late complications such as neoaortic dilation and coronary artery stenosis. New findings emphasize the need for comprehensive evaluation of coronary risk and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms leading to coronary artery stenosis and myocardial ischemia over the long term.
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