Care In Non-malignant Disease Research Articles

Let's get together: Local collaboration in end-of-life care

International Journal of Therapy and RehabilitationVol. 21, No. 7 EditorialLet's get together: Local collaboration in end-of-life careSarah FellowsSarah FellowsSearch for more papers by this authorSarah FellowsPublished Online:24 Jul 2014https://doi.org/10.12968/ijtr.2014.21.7.307AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Addington-Hall J, Fakhoury W, McCarthy M (1998) Specialist palliative care in non malignant disease. Palliat Med 12(6): 417–27 Crossref, Google ScholarDepartment of Health (2013) The NHS Constitution: the NHS belongs to us all. Department of Health, London Google ScholarHughes-Hallet T, Craft A, Davies C, Mackay I, Nielson T (2011) Palliative Care Funding Review: Funding the Right Care and Support for Everyone. Department of Health, London Google ScholarKlinger CA, Howell D, Zakus D, Deber RB (2014) Barriers and facilitators to care for the terminally ill: A cross-country case comparison study of Canada, England, Germany, and the United States. Palliat Med 28(2): 111–20 Crossref, Google ScholarLemond L, Allen LA (2011) Palliative care and hospice in advanced heart failure. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 54(2): 168–78 Crossref, Google ScholarSackley C1, Wade DT, Mant D et al. (2006) Cluster randomised pilot controlled trial of an occupational therapy intervention for residents with stroke in UK care homes. Stroke 37(9): 2336–41 Crossref, Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byPalliative physiotherapy in end-stage respiratory diseasesMassimiliano Polastri, Anna Maria Cuomo30 August 2022 | International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, Vol. 29, No. 8 2 July 2014Volume 21Issue 7ISSN (online): 1759-779X Metrics History Published online 24 July 2014 Published in print 2 July 2014 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Cardiorespiratory Nurses’ Perceptions of Palliative Care in Nonmalignant Disease: Data for the Development of Clinical Practice

Nurses lack a comprehensive body of scientific knowledge to guide the palliative care of patients with nonmalignant conditions. Current knowledge and practice reveal that nurses in many instances are not well prepared to deal with death and dying. Focus groups were used in an exploratory study to examine the perceptions of palliative care among cardiorespiratory nurses (n = 35). Content analysis was used to reveal themes in the data. Four major themes were found: (1) searching for structure and meaning in the dying experience of patients with chronic disease, (2) lack of a treatment plan and a lack of planning and negotiation, (3) discomfort in dealing with death and dying, and (4) lack of awareness of palliative care philosophies and resources. The information derived from this sample of cardiorespiratory nurses represents a complex interplay between personal, professional, and organizational perspectives on the role of palliative care in cardiorespiratory disease. The results of the study suggest a need for nurses to be equipped on both an intellectual and a practical level about the concept of palliative care in nonmalignant disease.

Palliative care in non-malignant disease: a pragmatic response.

With increasing requests for palliative care provision for all patients regardless of diagnosis, professionals within specialist palliative care services and palliative care nurse specialists need to consider how they will respond. Current palliative care is considered inequitable as the majority of palliative care services do not include those with non-malignant disease. This article examines a number of issues concerning the extension of palliative care to this patient population. It considers the needs of non-cancer patients, palliative care responsibilities, resource implications, professional knowledge and responsibilities, and possible action. Recommendations include the need for further research to explore these patients' needs and the role of specialist palliative care services. Suggestions regarding how Macmillan nurses could respond to the increased demand for palliative care services are offered. Within the current financial climate, the only realistic response for the Macmillan nurse is to act as a consultant working in collaboration with other health professionals outside the palliative care specialty.

Patients with non-malignant disease deserve an equitable service.

Palliative care has often challenged the status quo. With the wider health agenda focused on technology, cure and waiting lists, palliative care has strongly supported and valued quality care of the dying, the patients agenda and multidisciplinary working. Yet when faced with the new frontier of palliative care in non-malignant disease, the palliative care movement seems cautious, perhaps even daunted.

Specialist palliative care in nonmalignant disease.

The objective of this study was to investigate how many patients who die from causes other than cancer might benefit from specialist palliative care. This was achieved by secondary analysis of data from the Regional Study of Care for the Dying, a retrospective national population-based interview survey. The investigation involved 20 self-selected English health districts, nationally representative in terms of social deprivation and most aspects of health services provision. A total of 3696 patients were randomly selected from death registrations in the last quarter of 1990; an interview concerning the patient was completed 10 months after the death by bereaved family, friends or officials. The results show that a third (243/720) of cancer patients who were admitted to hospices or had domiciliary palliative care scored at or above the median on three measures of reported symptom experience in the last year of life. That is the number of symptoms (eight or more), the number of distressing symptoms (three or more) and the number of symptoms lasting more than six months (three or more). A total of 269 out of 1605 noncancer patients (16.8%) fulfilled these criteria. On this basis, it is estimated that 71,744 people who die from nonmalignant disease in England and Wales each year may require specialist palliative care. An increase of at least 79% in caseload would, therefore, be expected if specialist palliative care services were made fully available to noncancer patients. This is a conservative estimate, as non-cancer patients were matched to only one-third of cancer patients who had specialist palliative care. It is concluded that clinicians and patient groups caring for patients with advanced nonmalignant disease must work together with specialist palliative care services and with health commissioners to develop, fund and evaluate appropriate, cost-effective services which meet patient and family needs for symptom control and psychosocial support.