International Journal of Palliative Nursing

BACKGROUND: No specific evaluation of palliative care (PC) has been carried out to date despite its effective integration into Moroccan healthcare strategy. AIMS: To analyse the evolution of PC-related research in Morocco over the last two decades. METHODS: In this study, articles indexed in Web Of Science and PubMED that include the words Morocco and palliative, in their content, in French and English, with at least one author affiliated to a Moroccan institution and published between 2000 and 2020, were evaluated with bibliometrics methods to determine a timeline, a mapping of publications and collaborations, and the main journals, types and topics of publications...

BACKGROUND: Neuromuscular diseases are inherited and the prevalance of neuromuscular disease is estimated to be around 1:2000. METHODS: This cross-sectional research was conducted with a qualitative research model. Data were collected from patients with an online survey using the snowball sampling method. The study was conducted in accordance with the STROBE checklist methodology. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyse demographic data, and content analysis was used for qualitative opinions...

BACKGROUND: The establishment of paediatric hospices improves the quality of care of paediatric nurses. AIM: To examine the effect of establishing paediatric hospices on the quality of care of paediatric nurses. METHODS: Data was collected between 22 October 2022 and 25 February 2023. An online survey method was used to collect sociodemographic data and paediatric hospice data for paediatric nurses and a scale was used to determine the opinions of nurses working in the field of paediatrics...

BACKGROUND: Psychological, social and spiritual needs are often unmet during the care of patients with cancer in Taiwan. AIM: The purpose of this study was to confirm the spiritual care models including the spiritual distress symptoms (SDS), spiritual distress symptoms interventions (SDSI), and spiritual distress outcomes criteria (SDOC) of patients with cancer in the initial, relapse and terminal stages. METHOD: This cross-sectional survey collected data from 150 professional nurses about their perceptions of the SDS, SDSI and SDOC for patients with cancer...

BACKGROUND: In 2017, a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) triaging role was created within a specialist palliative care community service (SPCCS) in Ireland to enhance the triage process. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the role regarding data collection and reporting. Structured feedback from healthcare professionals (HCPs) was obtained on the effects, challenges and sustainability of this role. METHODS: This study used a mixed-methods approach...

BACKGROUND: To describe the use of a telephone consultation (TC) hotline for palliative care (PC) patients and their families at home provided by a PC service, during the COVID-19 lockdown. METHODS: Observational and cross-sectional study of a TC hotline performed by a PC service from 1 January to 31 December 2020. Data was collected through a record sheet completed during the call. Descriptive analyses were performed using the SPSS software (V.21 for Windows). RESULTS: A total of 494 calls were retrieved (n=187 patients; 6500 minutes recorded)...

BACKGROUND: Palliative care is defined as active and global care that provides holistic care integrating the body, mind and spirit of the dying person. A person's health deteriorates at the end of life and nurses facilitate patients to manage their personal body care. Knowing and considering the impact of disease on individuals' lives, how they adapt to cope with it, and the meaning they give to it, can help nurses. This is because of the embodiment concept of living in and through our bodies...

Synopses of a selection of recently published research articles of relevance to palliative care.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Decisions about end-of-life care often raise clinical and ethical challenges, especially when the person's capacity to contribute in the decision making at the end of life is limited. AIM: This study aimed to explore Taiwanese adults' preferences associated with communication, healthcare planning, life-sustaining treatments and palliative care and experiences of end-of-life care. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 adults aged 20 years and above...

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) causes patients' perceptions of self-efficacy and social support to decline. Patients with MS have to change day-to-day activities and encounter various physical and psychosocial problems while adapting to the new lifestyle. AIMS: The research aimed to define the quality of life, self-efficacy and social support in patients with MS and to determine the relationship between quality of life, perception of self-efficacy and perceived social support...

BACKGROUND: People in Thailand receiving palliative care at home can have complex needs and this means that the family caregiver can have a high burden of care. AIM: To assess the impact of a nursing care activities for a home-based palliative care programme (NHBPC) on the care burden among family caregivers and the care quality in older people at the palliative care stage. METHODS: This quasi-experimental repeated measure study was used to investigate the effects of the nursing care activities for a NHBPC programme...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Providing end-of-life care in a patient's home is challenging, especially if the nurse is from a different ethnic background from the patient. Evidence shows that people from an ethnic minority background often experience poorer end-of-life care due to care providers not understanding their care needs. AIM: To explore the experiences of community nursing staff caring for patients with an ethnic minority background at the end of their life. METHOD: Using a qualitative descriptive approach, 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted and the data was thematically analysed...

Synopses of a selection of recently published research articles of relevance to palliative care.

This monocentric pilot study aimed to assess whether there are significant changes in hair cortisol levels and cognitive functioning at baseline and after 3 weeks of hospitalisation in older palliative care patients, and to ascertain whether hair cortisol can be used as a pertinent stress biomarker in this population. Hair cortisol concentration levels were measured with the use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while cognitive functions were assessed by using 16-point Mini-Mental State Examination 2 (MMSE-2): brief version...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Most Australians say they wish to die at home, but many are admitted to inpatient facilities for symptom management. Caring@home resources can be used to support informal carers to manage breakthrough symptoms safely using subcutaneous medicines. Nurses require education about how to teach informal carers to use these resources. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of an online education programme for registered nurses (RNs) about using the caring@home resources...

The economic challenges for researchers in palliative care is an emerging and challenging topic. Knowing where, how and how much is spent is fundamental for palliative care (PC) provision to be increasingly efficient and with lower costs. To accomplish this, there are three important factors to consider: early access to PC; specialised PC using standardised procedures and informal and home-based PC. Beyond costs, ethical aspects should always be present when this care is being provided in its different forms, locations and contexts...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.