Preparedness planning before mechanical circulatory support: a "how-to" guide for palliative medicine clinicians

Journal of Pain & Symptom Management, May 2014, vol./is. 47/5(926-935.e6)

Swetz KM, Kamal AH, Matlock DD, Dose AM, Borkenhagen LS, Kimeu AK, Dunlay SM, Feely MA

Previous literature has suggested that palliative medicine providers are well poised to assist cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, and the multidisciplinary cardiovascular team with promotion of informed consent and initial and iterative discussions regarding goals of care. Here, the authors outline several key aspects of preparedness planning and detail strategies for engaging patients who are receiving mechanical circulatory support in the process. 

Full text available from Elsevier in Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Care strategy for death rattle in terminally ill cancer patients and their family members: recommendations from a cross-sectional nationwide survey of bereaved family members' perceptions

Journal of Pain & Symptom Management, July 2014, vol./is. 48/1(2-12)

Shimizu Y, Miyashita M, Morita T, Sato K, Tsuneto S, Shima Y

The authors aimed to clarify death rattle-related emotional distress levels among family members and their perceptions of the need for death rattle care improvement and explore the factors influencing both these issues. 

Full text available from Elsevier in Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

The challenges of providing palliative care for people with intellectual disabilities: a literature review

International Journal of Palliative Nursing, June 2014, vol./is. 20/6(279-84)

Dunkley S, Sales R

This literature review explores the challenges of providing palliative care for people with intellectual disability,  highlighting the need for ongoing staff development focusing on staff confidence, collaborative working between professionals, and the empowerment of people with intellectual disability to be involved in decisions about their end-of-life care. 

Full text available from EBSCO in International Journal of Palliative Nursing

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Current assessment and treatment strategies of dysphagia in head and neck cancer patients: a systematic review of the 2012/13 literature

Current Opinion in Supportive & Palliative Care, June 2014, vol./is. 8/2(152-63)

Kraaijenga SA, van der Molen L, van den Brekel MW, Hilgers FJ 

This review focuses on the rapidly growing literature published during the past 2 years about the current assessment and treatment strategies of dysphagia in HNC patients. 

Full text available from Ovid in Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care

"It's alright to ask for help": findings from a qualitative study exploring the information and support needs of family carers at the end of life

BMC Palliative Care, 2014, vol./is. 13/(22)

Harrop E, Byrne A, Nelson A

Results from four focus groups with Clinical Nurse Specialists, healthcare assistants, former and current carers at a hospice in the UK, suggest three domains which could underpin the development of educational or information based resources for carers: developing knowledge and competence; facilitating preparedness; supporting role recognition and confidence building.

Full text available from Proquest in BMC Palliative Care

Full text available from BioMedCentral in BMC Palliative Care

Blended e-learning and end of life care in nursing homes: a small-scale mixed-methods case study

BMC Palliative Care, 2014, vol./is. 13/(31)

Farrington CJ

This paper evaluates the impact of a blended training course for group c staff (i.e. staff with relatively infrequent contact with end of life care) in a nursing home in the East of England, while also considering barriers to change in practice. The author concludes that while blended e-learning courses have the potential to generate positive change in participants' understandings of and confidence about End of Life Care, organizational and inter-professional obstacles must be overcome in order to translate these changes into improved end of life care delivery in nursing (and residential) homes.

Full text available from Proquest in BMC Palliative Care

Full text available from BiomedCentral in BMC Palliative Care

Caregiver evaluation of the ACTIVE intervention: "it was like we were sitting at the table with everyone"

American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine, June 2014, vol./is. 31/4(444-53)

Oliver DP, Albright DL, Kruse RL, Wittenberg-Lyles E, Washington K, Demiris G

This study evaluates the participant experience of the ACTIVE (assessing caregivers for team intervention via video encounters) intervention, designed to use web conferencing technology to overcome the barriers of participation in the development and review of individual care plans. 

The changing face of grief: Contemporary directions in theory, research, and practice

Progress in Palliative Care, 01 June 2014, vol./is. 22/3(125-130)
Robert A Neimeyer

This brief article reviews the conceptual developments in grief work and the emerging therapies they suggest and argues that their inclusion in professional training can support professionals who work with families at the end of life and beyond.

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Bereavement and palliative care: A public health perspective

Progress in Palliative Care, 01 June 2014, vol./is. 22/3(131-135)
Bruce Rumbold; Samar Aoun

In this paper the authors argue that palliative care services should match their commitment to providing a good death with a commitment to supporting good grief and that this means investing their efforts principally in developing a community capacity for bereavement care rather than seeking to deliver specialised services only to relatives and friends of those who have received palliative care services.

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Caring for the carer: The lessons of research

Progress in Palliative Care, 01 June 2014, vol./is. 22/3(150-154)
Kenneth J Doka

This paper explores the phenomenon of carer grief as experienced by many who counsel or work with individuals who are ill, dying or bereaved.  It also identifies both individual and organisational strategies that help carers in coping with their grief.

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Bereavement needs assessment - Piloting a process

Progress in Palliative Care, 01 June 2014, vol./is. 22/3(143-149)
Tania Brocklehurst; Clare Hearnshaw; Linda Machin

Professionals from seven hospices and carers' organisations in Hertfordshire and Luton piloted the use of the 'Range of Response to Loss Bereavement Self-Assessment Tool' (RRL BSA). Practitioners involved in the pilot believed the responses to the assessment tool accurately reflect the level of the clients' bereavement needs.

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Complicated grief - a challenge in bereavement support in palliative care: An update of the field

Progress in Palliative Care, 01 June 2014, vol./is. 22/3(136-142)

Mai-Britt Guldin

This paper addresses issues relating to complicated grief as a bereavement-related disorder.  The current implications and challenges in palliative care bereavement support are discussed.

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Breaking down the silos: Collaboration delivering an efficient and effective response to palliative care emergencies

Progress in Palliative Care, 01 August 2014, vol./is. 22/4(212-218)
Kate Swetenham; Hugh Grantham; Karen Glaetzer

The objective is to explore the introduction of a rapid response team using a partnership model involving extended care paramedics in South Australia. Early data reveals that 90% of unnecessary and unwanted hospital admissions have been avoided in the palliative care population.

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

What is the cancer patient's own experience of participating in an occupational therapy-led relaxation programme?

Progress in Palliative Care, 01 August 2014, vol./is. 22/4(206-211)
Jill Cooper

This study investigated 10 cancer patients' experiences of a relaxation programme run by occupational therapists in a specialist cancer centre.  The main conclusion was that patients were not just attending relaxation for their anxiety but also held strong beliefs that the relaxation helped them cope with symptoms and other issues arising from their cancer experiences.

Available in print in Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Survivorship care plans

Oncology Nursing Forum, 01 July 2014, vol./is. 41/4(447-448)

Behrend, Susan Weiss

The purpose of this pilot study was to test the feasibility of a telephone counseling program for cancer survivors. The Cancer Survivor Telephone Education and Personal Support (C-STEPS) program was developed to address psychosocial and health behavior outcomes among cancer survivors. According to Garrett et al. (2013), this was the first telephone counseling intervention to simultaneously address psychosocial and health behavior in this patient population.

Available in print at Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

New Bereavement Care Service Standards

Bereavement Care, 01 April 2014, vol./is. 33/1(28-32)

Kerslake, Debbie, Chaplin, Dawn, Hartley, Jonathan, Wadey, Anne

The new Bereavement Care Service Standards, developed as part of the Gold Standard Bereavement Care Project, set out what needs to be addressed in order for services to be both safe and effective in meeting the needs of bereaved people. This article outlines the development process, and shows how the Standards can apply to the voluntary sector, NHS service providers, and to individual practitioners.

Available in print at Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital

Bereavement theory: recent developments in our understanding of grief and bereavement

Bereavement Care, 01 April 2014, vol./is. 33/1(7-12)

Hall, Christopher

This article looks at how early stage theories of grief came to be rejected and examines more recent theories which also consider the cognitive, social, cultural and spiritual dimensions of grief and loss. It goes on to highlight emerging trends in bereavement theory, potential complications of grief, and the evidence for the efficacy of grief interventions.

Available in print at Arthur Rank House Library, Brookfields Hospital