What is the evidence that palliative care teams improve outcomes for cancer patients and their families?

Source: The Cancer Journal

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication: September/October 2010

Publication type: Article.

In a nutshell: A systematic review of how specialist palliative care services have developed to meet the complex needs of advanced cancer sufferers.  The evidence demonstrated that home, hospital, and inpatient specialist palliative care significantly improved patient outcomes in relation to pain and symptom control, anxiety, and reduced hospital admissions. The results suggest that specialist palliative care should be part of care for cancer patients

Length of publication: 14 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Acknowledgement:  Palliative Care Journal Club

Improving social work in intensive care unit palliative care:results of a quality improvement intervention.

Source:  Journal of Palliative Medicine, March 2010, 13 (3) p.297-304

Follow this link for abstract.

Date of publication: March 2010

Publication type: article

In a nutshell: This article describes a study based in a 350-bed hospital with 65 ICU beds with the objective of examining the social worker component of an intervention to improve interdisciplinary palliative care in the ICU.  The effect of the intervention on three outcomes was measured: (1) families’ satisfaction with social work, (2) social workers’ reported palliative and supportive activities, and (3) social workers’ satisfaction with meeting family needs. The study showed an increase in social worker-reported activities which positvely supports the value of the model of interdisciplinary intervention however  results did not demonstrate improvements in other outcomes.

Length of publication: 8 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

 Acknowledgement: Medline.

The impact of advance care planning on elderly patients: a randomised control trial

Title: The impact of advance care planning on elderly patients: a randomised control trial

Source: British Medical Journal, 2010, 340 p845-849

Follow this link for fulltext (NHS Athens password required)

Date of publication: April 2010

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: This article details a randomised control trial involving 309 patients in Australia and concludes that advance care planning improves end of life care and patient and family satisfaction and reduces stress, anxiety, and depression in surviving relatives.

Length of publication: 5 pages

Acknowledgement: Palliative Journal Club

Palliative care partnerships

Title:  Palliative care partnerships

Source:  Nursing Management

Follow this link for fulltext. (NHS Athens password is required)

Date of publication:  October 2009

Publication type: Journal article.

In a nutshell:  Research undertaken jointly by the Commission for the Compact and Help the Hospices indicates that there are issues which need to be addressed if partnerships are to achieve excellence.  By using the ‘Compact’ which is a set of guidelines for partnership working for voluntary and public sector bodies, relationships between organisations can be enhanced with clear benefits for patients.

 The article focuses on six important themes which emerged from the study:

* Funding and contracting arrangements.

* Maintaining the independence of hospices.

* Expertise of practitioners.

* Need for proactive approaches to care.

* Role of volunteers.

* Importance of personal relationships.

Length of publication: 4 pages.

A national facilitation project to improve primary palliative care: impact of the Gold Standards Framework on process and self-ratings of quality

Source: Quality and Safety in Health Care 2009; 18 :174-180

Date of publication: June 2009

Publication type: Article

In a nutshell: An analysis of the impact of the implementation of the Gold Standards Framework for Palliative Care during the period 2003-2005 which involved around 1300 GP practices. The findings show all dimensions of quality improved following GSF implementation.

Length of publication: 7 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Key stakeholders’ experiences and views of the NHS End of Life Care Programme: findings from a national evaluation.

Source:  Palliative Medicine, 2009, 23/4, p.283-294   02692163

Follow this link for abstract.

Date of publication:  June 2009

Publication type:  Article.

In a nutshell: This article reports on the qualitative component of a national evaluation of the NHS End of Life Care Programme involving a range of stakeholders and focussing on implementation, impact and sustainability.  Positive results are discussed in the light of widely shared concerns about sustainability and this is discussed in light of the recently launched End of Life Care strategy.

Length of publication:  12 pages.

Some important notes:  Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Acknowledgement:  NHS Evidence.

International Observatory on End of Life Care

Source: International Observatory on End of Life Care website.

Click here  to link to the website.

Publication type:  Website

In a nutshell:  The website showcases the work of the team of social scientists and clinicians at Lancaster University which collaborates internationally to provide research evidence to impact the development of hospice and palliative care.   The site is a useful source of information on current research, on programmes of study and on volunteering or grant support. 

The site currently provides details of courses available at Lancaster which may be of interest to professionals:

• New Doctorate in Palliative Care course commencing in September 2010 click here for details.
• MA in Hospice Leadership click here for details.
• Advanced Summer School course which offers an ‘advanced introduction’ to social research methods relevant to end of life care, click here for details.

National End of Life Care Team Briefing Newsletter

Source:  National End of Life Care Programme

Click here to link to the newsletter

Date of publication:  13th April 2009

Publication type:  E-bulletin

In a nutshell:  The theme of this edition of the newsletter is End of Life Care Tools and articles include: The Gold Standards Framework Centre; Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient; Preferred Priorities for Care; A Forward Planning Tool for Adults with Learning Disabilities.

New international alliance launched to address urgent needs of palliative care patients worldwide

Title:  New international alliance launched to address urgent needs of palliative care patients worldwide

Source:  Help the Hospices   

Follow this link for more information:  Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance Launch 

Date of publication:  5th May 2009

Publication type:  Website

In a nutshell:  On 5th May 2009 the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (WPCA) launched a new global action network designed to focus exclusively on hospice and palliative care development worldwide.  WPCA will provide a global voice to achieve this goal and undertake various activities including advocacy, education and training, policy development and research.  

WPCA is engaged in a range of activities to support professionasl working in palliative care including: 

• advocacy
• World Hospice Palliative Care Day
• education and training
• International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN)
• policy
• quality and standards
• research.

Some important notes:  The WPCA  is a registered UK charity.  The Board of Trustees is an international board with worldwide representation.

National End of Life Care Conference

Source:  NHS End of Life Care for Adults

Follow this link for full details: Conference Programme

Date of event:  17 June 2009 

Location:  Hilton London Metropole Hotel, 225 Edgware Road, London, W2 1JU

In a nutshell:   The National End of Life Care Conference: Working together to improve services for people at the end of life will deliberate the Public Accounts Committee Review of the National Audit Office’s End of Life Care Report.

The report identified scope for more people to die well in a place of their choice. It recommended improving training; extending specialist palliative care services; and improving joint commissioning and partnership working by deploying existing and future resources more efficiently and effectively where PCTs can reconfigure services to best meet the needs of the local population.

The aims of the Conference include:

• Consider the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendations following the review of the NAO End of Life Care Report
• Update on the End of Life Care Strategy one year in
• Discover how more people can die in a place of their choice
• Learn how we can reduce the hospital stay time for people approaching the end of their life
• Discover how acute hospitals are seeking to improve the hospital experience of death and dying for patients and their families
• Find out about services provided by Hospices and NHS Palliative Care Providers and how these services may be enhanced
• Specific learning streams : 
  •  
    • Developing End of Life Care Pathways
    • Improving End of Life Care in Care Homes
    • Delivering Choice Programme
    • Patient Voice: Listening to and responding to patients and carers
• Be able to drive more effective commissioning and partnership working between the NHS, social services and the voluntary sector
• Network and share best practice with your peers and all those involved in end of life care

Acknowledgement:  National End of Life Care Programme

Help the Aged report: Pain in older people – reflections and experiences from an older person’s perspective

Title:  Pain in older people – reflections and experiences from an older person’s perspective

 

Source: Help the Aged http://policy.helptheaged.org.uk

  

For fulltext link here 

 

Year of publication: 2009

  

Publication type: Report

 

In a nutshell: This publication aims to highlight the issue of pain in older people by exploring their experiences of living and coping with persistent pain. Following on from two ‘listening events,’ conducted between August 2007 and April 2008 with 21 participants, several older people were invited to share their experiences and thoughts about pain in older age (part 1 of report). The second part of this report is a summary of key literature and policy, highlighting the fundamental issues relating to pain in older people and discussing the implications of the evidence. 

 

Length of publication: 43 page report

  

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Acknowledgement: This item was sourced from Palliative Care Matters

Caring for Aged Dementia Care Resident Study (CADRES) of person-centred care, dementia-care mapping, and usual care in dementia: a cluster-randomised trial

Title: Caring for Aged Dementia Care Resident Study (CADRES) of person-centred care, dementia-care mapping, and usual care in dementia: a cluster-randomised trial

Author: Chenoweth L et al

Date: April 2009

Source: The Lancet Neurology, Volume 8, Issue 4, Pages 317 – 325

In a nutshell: The article discusses that evidence for improved outcomes for people with dementia through provision of person-centred care and dementia-care mapping is largely observational. The authors aimed to do a large, randomised comparison of person-centred care, dementia-care mapping, and usual care. Results suggest person-centred care and dementia-care mapping both seem to reduce agitation in people with dementia in residential care.

Document length: 18 pages

Contact your library for assistance in accessing this article

Annual Evidence Update 9 February 2009: Gastrointestinal symptoms in supportive and palliative care

Title: Annual Evidence Update 9 February 2009: Gastrointestinal symptoms in supportive and palliative care

Source: NLH: Supportive and Palliative Care Specialist Library

For fulltext link here

Year of publication: 2009

Publication type: Website

In a nutshell: This update collects together the best current knowledge on the supportive care management of these conditions, concentrating on systematic reviews as well as high quality reviews and randomised controlled trials within the scope of supportive and palliative care. It also includes some expert-led consensus statements and guidelines, as although they may not meet the definition of ‘systematic review’, they may be more immediately applicable in a clinical situation and they do contain detailed references.