QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS RECEIVING HOME-BASED PALLIATIVE CARE FROM FAMILY PHYSICIANS AND MOBILE PALLIATIVE CARE TEAM

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1681-1689
Author(s):  
Oryna Z. Detsyk ◽  
Oleksandra P. Bratsyun ◽  
Раvlo M. Babich

The aim: To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of palliative patients receiving general palliative care and the impact of palliative care provided by mobile palliative care team (MPCT) on their QoL. Materials and methods: European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core30 (QLQ-C30) was used to evaluate QoL of 219 palliative patients receiving general palliative care from family physicians in the Center for primary health care of Uzhhorod city, Ukraine. In the second part of the study, the subgroup of 25 patients who had at least one of fifteen QLQ-C30 scales evaluated lower than 50 points were selected. They were provided with PC from the MPCT for 2 weeks and their QoL was measured again. Results: For the patients who received general palliative care from a family physicians mean m (SD) QoL value was 38.63 (16.9), and the main symptoms that affected QoL were fatigue 48.60 (23.30) and pain 46.11 (20.97). The most impact on QoL scores had role (rs=0,430;), emotional (0.321) and physical (0.301) functioning and such symptoms as pain (-0.392), insomnia (-0.311), dyspnoea (-0.294), financial difficulties (-0.255). For the patients who received palliative care from MPCT mean the mean QoL score increased by 30.0 points, mean pain score decreased by 42.22 points, fatigue score decreased by 38.0 points and level of financial difficulties also decreased by 76.0 points. Conclusions: The involvement of the MPCT could have a significant positive impact on the QoL of palliative patients.

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 405-413
Author(s):  
Arianne Brinkman-Stoppelenburg ◽  
Yvonne Vergouwe ◽  
Monique Booms ◽  
Mathijs P. Hendriks ◽  
Liesbeth A. Peters ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiaki Myotoku ◽  
Akiko Nakanishi ◽  
Miwa Kanematsu ◽  
Noriko Sakaguchi ◽  
Norio Hashimoto ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meaghann Weaver ◽  
Christopher Wichman ◽  
Cheryl Darnall ◽  
Sue Bace ◽  
Catherine Vail ◽  
...  

Sexes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-182
Author(s):  
Marcin Janecki ◽  
Izabela Kaptacz ◽  
Zuzanna Janecka ◽  
Violetta Skrzypulec-Plinta

Background: Quality of life, physical, psychic, and social functioning assessments in patients suffering from chronic, progressive, and incurable diseases are one of the most significant aims of the palliative care home teams. Sexuality and intimacy can be one of the most important elements of a person’s life, even at the end of it. Unfortunately, there is very little interest in this topic among medical staff of palliative care units. The objective of the study: The aim of this study was to assess the health status, the quality of life, the quality of sexual life, and the recognition and resolution of sexual problems by the palliative care team in adult patients in the advanced stage of terminal illness, who were receiving home palliative care. Research methods: The study involved 342 adult patients in the advanced stage of incurable, progressive disease, covered by home palliative care in 15 facilities in Poland. A generic EuroQoL 5-Dimension 3-Level health and quality of life assessment questionnaire and a questionnaire developed by the researchers, including questions about sexual problems, were used in this prospective study. Results: The presented results are the part of the more extensive study. The assessment of health status and quality of life of the study patients showed that the evaluation was the lowest for performing ordinary daily activities. The quality of sexual life after diagnosis in more than half of the study patients has worsened. Almost half of the respondents felt that the palliative care team did not recognize or address their sexual concerns. Patients indicated nurses and physicians as the members of the palliative care team most helpful in identifying and addressing sexual concerns. Conclusions: Members of the palliative care team should receive training in communication with patients concerning their sexual life, their needs and expectations and have knowledge about options for obtaining specialized sexological care. It is necessary to prepare and validate simple tools that will facilitate the initiation of appropriate communication between patients and members of the medical staff. It will be important to conduct more detailed and targeted research on sexuality and intimacy in the Polish palliative care patient population.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laoridi Aouridi-Héritier ◽  
Sophie Alonzo ◽  
Pascale Fabbro-Peray ◽  
Marion Guinamard ◽  
Sylvie Blanchard ◽  
...  

Abstract Title: The impact of Clown Therapy in a Palliative Care Unit (PCU); a pilot studyBackground: Although several studies on clown therapy have demonstrated benefits for children and the elderly, few studies exist on its impact on quality of life in adult terminal patients.We devised this monocentric, prospective, descriptive pilot study, covering both quantitative and qualitative aspects, to test the hypothesis that “clowning” in the PCU would help to improve the quality of life of patients, and benefit those accompanying them and their carers.Methods: 30 terminal patients [age range 63-79, 19 women, 11 men] from the palliative care unit at Nîmes University Hospital were included in the study from 31/03/2016 to 08/11/2016. All had given written informed consent. 2 clowns visited the patients and their companions, inviting them to take part in 15 to 30-minute improvised role-plays to prepare them for the inevitable separation. Primary outcome measures for the impact of the clowns’ interventions were: The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System evaluating patients’ physical symptoms and the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire assessing patients’ quality of life. The secondary outcome measure was Alceste textual data analysis software to analyse semi-structured interviews held with patients, their companions and carers. Results: However long the clown’s intervention, the ESAS scores indicated a significant improvement in nausea (p=0.0248) and dyspnea (p=0.0476). Scores for depression (p=0.0160) also showed an improvement. A slight difference in the scores for anxiety (p=0.0900) and drowsiness (p=0.0812) was also observed. 2 days after the clowns’ intervention, the Mc Gill scores revealed a significantly greater physical quality of life (p=0.0044) and a very slight increase in the patients’ overall quality of life (p=0.0807). Results of the lexical analysis with Alceste revealed benefits for all those involved and gave an indication for better patient management at the PCU. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrating the impact of “clowning” on various physical and mental symptoms in adult patients indicates the benefits of such interventions for patients, their companions and carers. Although the usefulness of clowns for children with life-threatening diseases is clear, the results obtained with our study clearly indicate the benefits of these interventions in adult, end-of-life patients. Further studies would be required to confirm these findings.Date of first registration : 20/11/2015Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02610452This research was registered under the following reference : IDRCB 2015-A00719-40 and approved by the local committee for the protection of persons, CPP Sud-Méditerranée III-Nîmes on November 6th, 2015 under the reference 2015.06.03.


2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (18) ◽  
pp. 3884-3894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marit S. Jordhøy ◽  
Peter Fayers ◽  
Jon Håvard Loge ◽  
Marianne Ahlner-Elmqvist ◽  
Stein Kaasa

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of comprehensive palliative care on patients’ quality of life. The intervention was based on cooperation between a palliative medicine unit and the community service and was compared with conventional care. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cluster randomized trial was carried out, with community health care districts defined as the clusters. Patients from these districts who had malignant disease and survival expectancy between 2 to 9 months were entered onto the trial. The main quality-of-life end points were physical and emotional functioning, pain, and psychologic distress assessed monthly by using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) questionnaire and Impact of Event scale (IES). In total, 235 intervention patients and 199 controls were included. RESULTS: During the initial 4 months of follow-up, the compliance was good (72%) and comparable among treatment groups. No significant differences on any of the quality-of-life scores were found. At later assessments and for scores that were made within 3 months before death, there was also no consistent tendency in favor of any treatment group on the main outcomes or other EORTC QLQ-C30 scales/items. CONCLUSION: A general program of palliative care may be important to ensure flexibility and to meet the needs of terminally ill patients. However, to achieve improvements on a group level of the various dimensions of quality of life, specific interventions directed toward specific symptoms or problems may have to be defined, evaluated, and included in the program.


2020 ◽  
pp. 171-178
Author(s):  
Laura Rose Musheno

Depression is a common and debilitating disease in pediatric patients with life-limiting illnesses. Depression can be challenging to diagnose in patients with advanced illness because symptoms can be difficult to recognize. Evaluation for depression in this population should focus on the cognitive or psychological, rather than physical, symptoms. Treatment for depression can positively impact quality of life and should be instituted promptly. Clinicians should consider patient prognosis to help guide therapy selection because usual antidepressant medications require several weeks to take full effect, whereas psychostimulants have a much faster onset. The most effective treatment for depression should also incorporate nonpharmacologic therapies and utilize the support of the interdisciplinary palliative care team. This chapter explores the nuances of diagnosing as well as treating depression in pediatric palliative care patients.


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