Literature Review

End-of-life care for children: making it possible to die at homeNursing Times, by Jill Davies; 2/5/24UK - A children’s community nursing team collaborated with an adult palliative care urgent-response service to provide 24-hour end-of-life care for paediatric patients. This made dying at home a realistic option for these patients, which had not previously been the case.

The power of the patient’s voice: Enhancing end-of-life careMedriva, by Ayanna Amadi; 1/31/24End-of-life care is a delicate and complex area of healthcare, requiring a balanced blend of clinical expertise, emotional sensitivity, and communication skills. The End-of-Life Essentials team at Flinders University has created a stirring video titled ‘The Patient’s Perspective,’ focusing on the importance of patient input in improving end-of-life care. The video presents a moving narrative from the vantage point of a patient dealing with serious illness, highlighting the profound impact of healthcare staff interactions.

Ethical issues in pain and palliationCurr Opin Anaesthesiol, by Marco Cascella, Alessandro Laudani, Giuliana Scarpati, Ornella Piazza; 1/30/24Summary: Palliative care in the ICU should involve a multidisciplinary team, to mitigate patients suffering and futility. Providing spiritual support in the ICU is an important aspect of holistic patient care too. Increasingly sophisticated tools for diagnosing and treating pain, as those involving artificial intelligence, might favour disparities in access, cause informed consent problems, and surely, they need prudence and reproducibility. Pain clinicians worldwide continue to face the ethical dilemma of prescribing opioids for patients with chronic noncancer pain. Balancing the need for effective pain relief with the risk of opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose is a very controversial task.

Navigating compassion: A comprehensive review of palliative care in respiratory medicineCureus (India), by Ulhas Jadhav, Jay Bhanushali, Arman Sindhu, Bingu Shiv Kiran Reddy; 12/23.Palliative care has emerged as a crucial aspect of comprehensive healthcare, particularly in respiratory medicine. This review navigates the intricate landscape of palliative care in the context of respiratory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and lung cancer.

Timing of prognostic discussions in people with advanced cancer: a systematic reviewSupport Care Cancer, by Sharon H Nahm, Shalini Subramaniam, Martin R Stockler, Belinda E Kiely; 1/23/24Conclusions: Prognostic discussions with people with advanced cancer need to be individualised, and there are several key timepoints when doctors should attempt to initiate these conversations. These recommended timepoints can inform clinical trial design and communication training for doctors to help improve prognostic understanding.

The psychological experience of grandparents: proposal of a qualitative clinical assessment tool in pediatric palliative careClin Pract, by Alexandra Jóni Nogueira and Maria Teresa Ribeiro; 1/4/24Compared to parental caregivers and healthy siblings, grandparents are underexplored in the literature and clinical practice. The aim of the present study is to propose a psychological experience assessment tool of grandparents in this context. 

Construction of Hospice Care evaluation system for terminally ill patients in ICUPubMed, Patient Prefer Adherence, by Qin-Ling Wang et.al; 1/10/24Conclusion: In this study, three rounds of Delphi consultation methods were used to construct an evaluation index system for the nursing quality of hospice care for ICU patients. The evaluation indicators formulated closely focus on the physiological and psychological characteristics of ICU patients, which can provide a better reference for ICU patients with advanced life in the future.

Feds must decide whether 'all Canadians' have right to assisted dyingThe Canadian Press; 1/8/24A senator who pushed for people with mental illness to be able to seek a medically assisted death says the federal government must decide whether it will "allow all Canadians" their choice of end-of-life care. 

Hockey For Hospice Tournament Kicks Off WednesdayWindsorDOTca.com (Windsor, ON)December 26, 2023Windsor, ON—The annual Hockey For Hospice tournament is back for the 27th year taking place on December 27th, 28th and 29th, 2023. Originally conceived as a skate-a-thon by tournament founder, Tim Beaulieu, Hockey For Hospice has grown each year from its humble beginnings. This year’s edition will include a schedule of more than 215 games played at four different arenas over three days. 

End-of-life care 'no better than it was 70 years ago'The Guardian (United Kingdom)/Yahoo! News, 12/21/23Loneliness afflicts the majority of people at the end of their life, according to a report that found palliative care has not improved in 70 years. Poverty, social isolation and not being able to die where they want are all common issues causing “considerable hardship” for people as they die. Despite advances in healthcare since 1952, the “end of life care system has not kept pace”, the charity Marie Curie concluded in an analysis comparing care today with 70 years ago. It found that 97 per cent of carers were looking after patients who were lonely at the end of their life, while less than a third said people they cared for were always able to die where they wanted.

Hospices face ‘existential threat’ amid budget fearsBBCDecember 11, 2023Hospices in the north of England face an “existential threat” due to a “funding crisis”, according to a hospice leader. Paul Marriott, chair of Hospices North East and North Cumbria, said all of its members were running budget deficits. He warned hospices may have to make staffing cuts without more funding. ... Hospices receive most of their funding from charitable donations, but get some some from the NHS [National Health Service] too. The average adult hospice receives about a third of its income from the NHS, according to charity Hospice UK. Paul Marriott said all members of the Hospices North East and North Cumbria group were running budget deficits. ... He said: “I do think it is an existential threat. Every hospice is drawing on reserves currently and that’s not sustainable.” Hospices could close or make serious staffing cuts next financial year without more funding, he added.