An Online Survey of Australian Medical Students' Perspectives on Spiritual History Taking and Spiritual Care.

It is reported that little spiritual care communication skills training occurs in Australian medical schools. This survey explored the experience of final year students in this domain in order to inform the construction of a new curriculum. Medical students in their final year at four Australian medical schools were invited to participate in an online survey, which included questions about demographic details, exposure to spiritual history taking, perceived learning needs, and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-being 12 item Non-Illness score.

'It's tough. It is hard': A qualitative interview study of staff and volunteers caring for hospice in-patients with delirium.

Background: Delirium is a distressing condition often experienced by hospice in-patients. Increased understanding of current multidisciplinary care of delirium is needed to develop interventions in this setting.

Aim(s): To explore hospice staff and volunteers' practice, its influences and what may need to change to improve hospice delirium care.

Prevalence and management of chronic nonmalignant pain in palliative care populations: A systematic review.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and current approaches to clinical management of chronic nonmalignant pain in patients referred to palliative care services.

Methods: A systematic review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021205432). Six databases were searched on 25 August 2020 and again on 11 July 2022: PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE, Elsevier Scopus, PsychINFO, the Cochrane Library, and CINAHL.

Three key areas in progressing delirium practice and knowledge: recognition and relief of distress, new directions in delirium epidemiology and developing better research assessments.

Delirium presents formidable challenges: it affects one in four of older hospitalised adults, greatly elevates the risk of multiple short- and long-term complications including dementia and causes significant distress. Delirium care remains generally poor. Yet, there are clear grounds for optimism; the last decade has seen impactful policy advances and a tripling of research output.

Delirium-related distress in the ICU: A qualitative meta-synthesis of patient and family perspectives and experiences.

Background: Better understanding of patient and family member experiences of delirium and related distress during critical care is required to inform the development of targeted nonpharmacologic interventions.

Objective: To examine and synthesize qualitative data on patient and family member delirium experiences and relieving factors in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Design: We conducted a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis.

Systematic review of medical education on spirituality.

Background: Spirituality is a fundamental dimension of our human nature that impacts on medical care and yet is relatively neglected by medical education courses in Australia.

Aim: This systematic review was conducted to assess the curriculum content currently used to develop medical student understanding of, and engagement with, spirituality in the context of patient care.

Methods: Studies published in English from 2010 to the review date were included in order to focus on the most recent curricula.

Clinicians' delirium treatment practice, practice change, and influences: A national online survey.

Background: Recent studies cast doubt on the net effect of antipsychotics for delirium.

Aim: To investigate the influence of these studies and other factors on clinicians' delirium treatment practice and practice change in palliative care and other specialties using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Design: Australia-wide online survey of relevant clinicians.

Delirium researchers' perspectives of the challenges in delirium biomarker research: A qualitative study.

Background: Despite the prevalence and impact of delirium, its pathophysiology remains unclear. In order to advance this field of research, robust scientific methodology is required, yet quality of reporting in this field of research has been highly inconsistent. Delirium biomarker research poses several challenges, none of which have been documented in the literature before.

The experience of delirium in palliative care settings for patients, family, clinicians and volunteers: A qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis.

Background: Delirium is common in palliative care settings and is distressing for patients, their families and clinicians. To develop effective interventions, we need first to understand current delirium care in this setting.

Aim: To understand patient, family, clinicians' and volunteers' experience of delirium and its care in palliative care contexts.

Who cares for the bereaved? A national survey of family caregivers of people with motor neurone disease.

Although Motor Neurone Disease (MND) caregivers are most challenged physically and psychologically, there is a paucity of population-based research to investigate the impact of bereavement, unmet needs, range of supports, and their helpfulness as perceived by bereaved MND caregivers. : An anonymous national population-based cross-sectional postal and online survey of bereavement experiences of family caregivers who lost a relative/friend to MND in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Recruitment was through all MND Associations in Australia.

Older Persons' and Their Caregivers' Perspectives and Experiences of Research Participation With Impaired Decision-Making Capacity: A Scoping Review.

Background And Objectives: Human research ethics statements support the equitable inclusion of diverse groups. Yet older people are underrepresented in clinical research, especially those with impaired decision-making capacity. The aim of this study was to identify the perspectives and experiences of older persons and their caregivers of research participation with impaired decision-making capacity.

Grief, depression, and anxiety in bereaved caregivers of people with motor neurone disease: a population-based national study.

Despite the traumatic and fatal nature of motor neurone disease (MND) and the caring experiences being described as unrelenting, little is known about risk of psychiatric morbidity and Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) for family caregivers. A cross-sectional survey of caregivers bereaved in 2016-2018 was distributed by the five MND Associations in Australia (2019). Validated tools for PGD (PG-13), anxiety, depression, and family functioning were included.

Cancer worry and empathy moderate the effect of a survivorship-focused intervention on quality of life.

Objective: This study examined the impact of a survivorship planning consultation (SPC) for patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma and diffuses large B-cell lymphoma on quality of life (QOL). We specifically assessed two potential moderators, cancer worry and perceived empathy, of the intervention effects on QOL.

Methods: This cluster randomized, four-site trial examined the efficacy of a SPC; physicians received communication skills training and applied these skills in a survivorship-focused office visit using a care plan vs a control arm in which physicians were trained to and subsequently provided a time-controlled, manualized wellness rehabilitation consultation focused only on discussion of healthy nutrition and exercise.

The transformative meanings of viewing or not viewing the body after sudden death.

This study investigates the experience of viewing or not viewing the body for 64 relatives bereaved after a sudden and unexpected death. (1) (1)Mowll (2011). Transition to a new reality: the experience of viewing or not viewing the body of a relative in the context of grief after a sudden and unexpected death.

Is the Life Space Assessment applicable to a palliative care population? Its relationship to measures of performance and quality of life.

Context: The spatial environments that palliative care patients frequent for business and leisure constrict as their disease progresses and their physical functioning deteriorates. Measuring a person's movement within his or her own environment is a clinically relevant and patient-centered outcome because it measures function in a way that reflects actual and not theoretical participation.

Objectives: This exploratory study set out to test whether the Life-Space Assessment (LSA) would correlate with other commonly used palliative care outcome measures of function and quality of life.

Developing Targeted Health Service Interventions Using the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model: Two Australian Case Studies.

Aims and Objectives. This paper provides an overview of the applicability of the PRECEDE-PROCEED Model to the development of targeted nursing led chronic illness interventions. Background.

A retrospective analysis of primary diagnosis, comorbidities, anticholinergic load, and other factors on treatment for noisy respiratory secretions at the end of life.

Background: Noisy respiratory secretions (NRS) at the end of life have been described in 23%-92% of deaths in palliative care units. Despite limited evidence to support the efficacy of the antisecretory medications, hyoscine hydrobromide and glycopyrrolate, administration of these medications remains standard palliation. Predicting those at risk of NRS could allow early and targeted intervention.

Continuing professional development programmes for rural nurses involved in palliative care delivery: an integrative review.

Purpose: To review published studies evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes on rural nurses palliative care capabilities in order to inform the development of targeted learning activities for this population.

Design: An integrative review.

Methods: Searches of key electronic databases and the World Wide Web was undertaken using key words, followed by hand searching for relevant articles.

End-of-life care pathways in acute and hospice care: an integrative review.

Context: Over the past decade, there has been widespread adoption of end-of-life care pathways as a tool to better manage care of the dying in a variety of care settings. The adoption of various end-of-life care pathways has occurred despite lack of robust evidence for their use.

Objectives: This integrative review identified published studies evaluating the impact of an end-of-life care pathway in the acute and hospice care setting from January 1996 to April 2010.

Cancer as a chronic disease.

Background: Over the past two decades the number of people Living with cancer has increased. Many cancer survivors end up with long term disabilities requiring ongoing care and support. For many people, cancer survival now means Living with a chronic and complex condition.

End of life care - the importance of culture and ethnicity.

Background: Australia is a culturally and ethnically diverse country. Within such diversity there will be differing beliefs systems about death and dying. This may be a challenging prospect for health professionals.