American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Intravenous Fentanyl for Dyspnea at the End of Life: Lessons for Future Research in Dyspnea
Conclusions: This exploratory study shows that IV Fentanyl can alleviate dyspnea in some patients but is an example of the difficulties conducting dyspnea research. Future studies would benefit from novel developments in the areas of measuring dyspnea in dying patients and statistical analysis of small sample sizes. (Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine)
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 17, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Pang, G. S., Qu, L. M., Tan, Y. Y., Yee, A. C. P. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Symptom Prevalence, Symptom Severity, and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Young, Middle, and Older Adults With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic, life threatening illness that affects primarily women. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of PAH symptoms and to determine whether there are differences in symptom severity and HRQOL in PAH symptoms among young, middle, and older adults with PAH. A cross sectional design was utilized. For all the age groups, shortness of breath (SOB) on exertion and fatigue were the two most prevalent symptoms. SOB on exertion had the highest symptom severity scores followed by fatigue for all groups. Symptom severity was significantly different among the groups for ...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 17, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Matura, L. A., McDonough, A., Carroll, D. L. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Evaluation of Subcutaneous Phenobarbital Administration in Hospice Patients
This study evaluates the tolerability of phenobarbital administered subcutaneously. Of 69 patients and 774 distinct subcutaneous phenobarbital injections, 2 site reactions were recorded (2.9% of patients; 0.3% of injections). Both were mild, grade 1 reactions. Each patient continued to receive subcutaneous phenobarbital via newly placed ports with no additional reactions. Based on these findings, phenobarbital appears to be well tolerated when administered subcutaneously. (Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine)
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 17, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Hosgood, J. R., Kimbrel, J. M., Protus, B. M., Grauer, P. A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers: A Review of Commonly Encountered Stressors, How They Cope With them, and Implications for Volunteer Training/Management
Hospice palliative care volunteer work—being with dying persons and their often distraught family members—has the potential to take an emotional toll on volunteers. The aim of this review article is to examine the types of stressors hospice palliative care volunteers typically experience in their work and how they cope with them. The results of this literature review suggest that hospice palliative care volunteers do not generally perceive their volunteer work as highly stressful. Nonetheless, a number of potential stressors and challenges were identified in the literature, along with some strategies that volun...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Claxton-Oldfield, S. Tags: Review Articles Source Type: research

Opioids, Exertion, and Dyspnea: A Review of the Evidence
The aim of this paper is to review the evidence for a role for opioids as an intervention for exertion induced breathlessness with regard to exercise tolerance and breathlessness intensity. Current knowledge about exogenous opioids in exertion-induced breathlessness due to disease comes from a variety of phase 2 feasibility or pilot designs with differing duration, doses, drugs, exercise regimes, underlying aetiologies, and outcome measures. They provide interesting data but firm conclusions for either breathlessness severity or exercise endurance cannot be drawn. There are no adequately powered phase 3 trials of opioids w...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Johnson, M. J., Hui, D., Currow, D. C. Tags: Review Articles Source Type: research

Assessing Patients Palliative Care Needs in the Final Stages of Illness During Hospitalization
This study aimed to explore the palliative care needs of inpatients in the final stages of illness and to analyze the factors that influence them. The survey comprised 349 inpatients in the terminal stage of disease. Needs were assessed with the Patient Needs Assessment in Palliative Care (PNAP) questionnaire; mental status was evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire. The importance of needs varied with respect to patients’ diagnosis, age, gender, religion, and their levels of anxiety and depression. Most frequently, predictors of needs importance were lower age, poorer function...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Buzgova, R., Sikorova, L., Jarosova, D. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Assessment and Management of Symptoms for Outpatients Newly Diagnosed With Lung Cancer
Conclusions: Veterans with newly diagnosed lung cancer report significant symptom burden. Despite ample opportunities to address patients’ symptoms, variations in assessment exist among subspecialty services. Coordinated approaches to symptom assessment are likely needed among patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer. (Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine)
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Reinke, L. F., Feemster, L. C., Backhus, L. M., Gylys-Colwell, I., Au, D. H. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Prevalence and Description of Palliative Care in US Nursing Homes: A Descriptive Study
Conclusions: There is limited availability of palliative type programs in NH facilities and underutilization in those NH with programs. (Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine)
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Lester, P. E., Stefanacci, R. G., Feuerman, M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Community-Partnered Collaboration to Build an Integrated Palliative Care Clinic: The View From Urology
Conclusion: An integrated, patient-centered model for individuals with advanced urologic malignancies is feasible and well received by practitioners. (Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine)
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Bergman, J., Ballon-Landa, E., Lorenz, K. A., Saucedo, J., Saigal, C. S., Bennett, C. J., Litwin, M. S. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Motivations of German Hospice Volunteers: How Do They Compare to Nonhospice Volunteers and US Hospice Volunteers?
We examined reasons of volunteering for hospice and nonhospice organizations in a study with 125 volunteers (22-93 years) from the United States and Germany. Motives of US and German hospice volunteers revealed similarities and few differences. Hospice volunteers are involved because they seek to help others, seek new learning experiences, seek social contacts, or seek personal growth. The US hospice volunteers reported motives related to altruistic concerns, enhancement, and social influence as more influential, while German hospice volunteers rated career expectations as being more important. Comparison of German hospice...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Stelzer, E.-M., Lang, F. R. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

An Evaluation of a Bereavement Program in a US Research Hospital
The objective of this analysis was to evaluate program effectiveness for those individuals who we successfully made contact with on all 4 occasions (N = 39). At 12 months postnotification, the majority viewed the NIH as a source of support (56%), and the frequency of positive emotional ratings increased (59%). There are limitations to this analysis, and biases may be present. In sum, this analysis serves as an example of a successful hospital-based bereavement program that enrolls patients who have been treated at the institution in any capacity who are also patients enrolled in institutional review board-approved research...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Lynes, C., Phillips, J., Keane, C., Sloan, D., Berger, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

A Structured Approach to End-of-Life Decision Making Improves Quality of Care for Patients With Terminal Illness in a Teaching Hospital in Ghana
Conclusions: A structured approach to end-of-life decision-making significantly improves the quality of care for patients with terminal illness in the domains of pain control, completing relationships and emotional responses towards dying. (Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine)
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Edwin, A. K., Johnson McGee, S., Opare-Lokko, E. A., Gyakobo, M. K. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Functional Assessment and Intervention by Nursing Assistants in Hospice and Palliative Care Inpatient Care Settings: A Quality Improvement Pilot Study
This study assessed the impact of a nursing assistant-led functional intervention in an urban hospice. Thirty-three patients participated. A physical therapist trained 4 nursing assistants to assess 4 basic functional activities at admission and discharge and to provide daily activity training to intervention group participants. Control group participants were assessed at admission and discharge and received the usual standard of care. Both groups improved. The intervention group participants demonstrated significant improvement in the Timed up and Go test as well as their self-reported ability to achieve goals on the Pati...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Mueller, K., Hamilton, G., Rodden, B., DeHeer, H. D. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Hospice and Family Involvement With End-of-Life Care: Results From a Population-Based Survey
Utilization and perceived benefits of hospice may vary across populations. In a population-based survey, we examined the prevalence of hospice utilization, caregiver sociodemographic characteristics, and quality and complexity of end-of-life (EOL) care, as reported by community caregivers to people who died in the prior year. The 2009 to 2010 Allegheny County, PA Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Health Survey, a population-based telephone survey of 5442 adult residents, included an 8-item EOL caregiver module. Overall, 7.8% (95% confidence interval = 7.0-8.6) of respondents reported having arranged or provided ca...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Seaman, J. B., Bear, T. M., Documet, P. I., Sereika, S. M., Albert, S. M. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research

Utilization of Hospice Bereavement Support by At-Risk Family Members
Approximately 10% of the bereaved are at risk of bereavement-related mental health disorders. Hospices’ bereavement services could potentially address needs of many at risk, but little is known about their service use. We analyzed data from 6160 bereaved family members of hospice patients. Risk of mental health problems was identified by hospice providers postloss. Of those characterized as "at-risk," 52% used services compared to 18% of the "low risk." Factors associated with service use among at-risk were female gender and younger age of death. Those who lost a child used services less than other bereaved. Although...
Source: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine - February 8, 2016 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Ghesquiere, A., Thomas, J., Bruce, M. L. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research