Sensations, symptoms, and then what? Early bodily experiences prior to diagnosis of lung cancer.

Lung cancer (LC) generally lacks unique core symptoms or signs. However, there are a multitude of bodily sensations that are often non-specific, not easily understood, and many times initially not recognized as indicative of LC by the affected person, which often leads to late diagnosis. In this international qualitative study, we inductively analyzed retrospective accounts of 61 people diagnosed with LC in Denmark, England and Sweden.

In community-dwelling women frailty is associated with imminent risk of osteoporotic fractures.

Unlabelled: Frailty reflects an accelerated health decline. Frailty is a consequence of fracture and contributes to fracture. Greater frailty was associated with higher fracture risk.

Poor Psychosocial Well-Being in the First Year-and-a-Half After Losing a Parent to Cancer - A Longitudinal Study Among Young Adults Participating in Support Groups.

The purpose of this study was to investigate variations in psychosocial well-being over time among young adults who participated in a support group after the death of a parent from cancer. Fifty-five young adults, aged 16-28 years, completed questionnaires that measured self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction at three time-points during the first year-and-one-half after the loss. Results indicated overall poor psychosocial well-being with few increases in psychological health over the study period, despite access to support and social networks.

Barriers and facilitators for individualized rehabilitation during breast cancer treatment - a focus group study exploring health care professionals' experiences.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) and related treatment are associated with the risk of developing a wide range of persistent disabling impairments. Despite extensive research in the field and an enhanced focus on BC rehabilitation, up to 34-43% of these patients are at risk of developing chronic distress. In addition, it is known that these patients repeatedly report unmet needs, which are strongly associated with reduced quality of life.

Health Professionals' Views on Key Enabling Factors and Barriers of National Multidisciplinary Team Meetings in Cancer Care: A Qualitative Study.

Purpose: Multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTMs) are an integral component of cancer care. Increasingly, virtual MDTMs are used to grant high-quality treatment recommendations across health-care regions, which expands and develops the local MDTM team to a regional or national expert network. We investigated health professionals' experiences from national, virtual MDTMs for rare cancer with a focus on key enabling factors and barriers.

The convivial and the pastoral in patient-doctor relationships: a multi-country study of patient stories of care, choice and medical authority in cancer diagnostic processes.

Experiences of cancer diagnosis are changing in light of both the increasingly technological-clinical diagnostic processes and the socio-political context in which interpersonal relations take place. This has raised questions about how we might understand patient-doctor relationship marked by asymmetries of knowledge and social capital, but that emphasise patients' empowered choices and individualised care. As part of an interview study of 155 participants with bowel or lung cancer across Denmark, England and Sweden, we explored participants' stories of the decisions made during their cancer diagnostic process.

Leadership in specialist palliative home care teams: A qualitative study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe team leaders' experiences of facilitators and barriers of leadership in specialist palliative home care teams.

Background: For effective teamwork in specialist palliative care, leadership is crucial; however, defining and agreeing on what leadership comprises may be challenging. In palliative care, teamwork is recognized as imperative for multiprofessional perspectives to meet dying patients' and families' needs.

Symptom relief during last week of life in neurological diseases.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate symptom prevalence, symptom relief, and palliative care indicators during the last week of life, comparing them for patients with motor neuron disease (MND), central nervous system tumors (CNS tumor), and other neurological diseases (OND).

Material & Methods: Data were obtained from the Swedish Register for Palliative Care, which documents care during the last week of life. Logistic regression was used to compare patients with MND (n = 419), CNS tumor (n = 799), and OND (n = 1,407) as the cause of death.

A comprehensive approach to rehabilitation interventions following breast cancer treatment - a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide. Post-treatment, patients suffer from side effects and have various rehabilitation needs, which means that individualization is fundamental for optimal rehabilitation. This systematic review (SR) of SRs aims to evaluate the current evidence on rehabilitation interventions in female patients following BC treatment.

Psychometric evaluation of the anticipatory grief scale in a sample of family caregivers in the context of palliative care.

Introduction: In palliative care, family caregivers are often faced with experiences of grief in anticipation of the loss of a close person. An instrument designed to measure this form of grief is the Anticipatory Grief Scale, which includes 27 items and has been used in several studies in various contexts. However, the instrument has not been validated.

Upholding an ideal image of palliative work in the face of obstacles.

Objective:: Homecare workers play a pivotal role in palliative care, but research on their experiences is limited. The aim of this study was to describe how homecare workers in Sweden experience their work in palliative homecare.

Method:: This qualitative study used open-ended interviews with a purposive sample of 15 homecare workers.

Team type, team maturity and team effectiveness in specialist palliative home care: an exploratory questionnaire study.

To meet complex needs in persons and families within specialist palliative care, care team members are expected to work together in performing a comprehensive assessment of patient needs. Team type (how integrated team members work) and team maturity (group development) have been identified as components in team effectiveness and productivity. The aim of the study reported in this paper was to identify team types in specialist palliative care in Sweden, and to explore associations between team type, team maturity and team effectiveness in home care teams.

Qualitative cross-country comparison of whether, when and how people diagnosed with lung cancer talk about cigarette smoking in narrative interviews.

Objectives: To compare and examine whether, when and how patients with lung cancer in three countries, with different survival rates, talk about cigarette smoking and its relationship with help-seeking.

Design: A qualitative cross-country comparison with analysis of narrative interviews.

Setting: Participants in Sweden, Denmark and England were interviewed during 2015-2016.

Being acknowledged by others and bracketing negative thoughts and feelings: Frail older people's narrations of how existential loneliness is eased.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe how EL was eased, as narrated by frail older people.

Background: Existential loneliness (EL) is an unavoidable part of the human condition. It is a complex phenomenon that has been described as disconnection from life.

Psychometric evaluation of the Texas revised inventory of grief in a sample of bereaved family caregivers.

The Texas Revised Inventory of Grief (TRIG) was developed to measure the intensity of grief after the death of a close person. It consists of two scales: TRIG I (past behaviors) and TRIG II (present feelings). Because of inconsistencies in previous validations, the instrument needs to be further validated, hence the aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the TRIG in a sample of bereaved family caregivers in Sweden.

Actions helping expressed or anticipated needs: Patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers' experiences of specialist palliative home care teams.

Patients with advanced cancer and family caregivers in palliative care face physical, psychological, social and existential challenges, much of the time home alone. Specialist palliative home care team services can be instrumental for sense of security in an uncertain situation. The aim of this study was to describe patients' and family caregivers' experiences of specialist palliative home care team actions that are identified by the participants as helping or hindering interventions.

Bereavement stressors and psychosocial well-being of young adults following the loss of a parent - A cross-sectional survey.

Purpose: The knowledge about young adults who have lost a parent to cancer is limited, and to reach a broader understanding about this group, this study used the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (Stroebe and Schut, 1999) as a theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to describe loss- and restoration-oriented bereavement stressors and psychosocial wellbeing of young adults following the loss of a parent to cancer.

Method: This survey used baseline data from a longitudinal study.

Conversations about Death and Dying with Older People: An Ethnographic Study in Nursing Homes.

Nursing homes are often places where older persons “come to die.” Despite this, death and dying are seldom articulated or talked about. The aim of this study was to explore assistant nurses’ experiences of conversations about death and dying with nursing home residents.

Early and late signs that precede dying among older persons in nursing homes: the multidisciplinary team's perspective.

Background: Nursing home residents in Sweden are old, frail and usually have multiple morbidities which often make dying a prolonged suffering. It has been found that older persons at nursing homes receive far less palliative care than younger persons, partly because it is difficult to identify when the final stage of life begins. The identification may help the staff to enable the older person and their families to participate in planning the care in accordance with their own preferences and values.

It is important that the process goes quickly, isn't it?" A qualitative multi-country study of colorectal or lung cancer patients' narratives of the timeliness of diagnosis and quality of care.

Purpose: The emphasis on early diagnosis to improve cancer survival has been a key factor in the development of cancer pathways across Europe. The aim of this analysis was to explore how the emphasis on early diagnosis and timely treatment is reflected in patient's accounts of care, from the first suspicion of colorectal or lung cancer to their treatment in Denmark, England and Sweden.

Method: We recruited 155 patients in Denmark, England and Sweden who were within six months of being diagnosed with lung or colorectal cancer.

Family members' experiences of care of the dying in residential care homes where the Liverpool Care Pathway was used.

Background: Residential care homes (RCHs) are increasingly becoming a common place of death for older people.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe family members' experiences of care of the dying in RCHs where the Liverpool care pathway for the dying patient was used.

Methods: This study had a descriptive qualitative study design.

Factors Associated With Symptom Relief in End-of-Life Care in Residential Care Homes: A National Register-Based Study.

Context: Residential care homes (RCHs) are a common place of death. Previous studies have reported a high prevalence of symptoms such as pain and shortness of breath among residents in the last week of life.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore the presence of symptoms and symptom relief and identify factors associated with symptom relief of pain, nausea, anxiety, and shortness of breath among RCH residents in end-of-life care.