Palliative Care News and Research

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Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.

Palliative care associated with reduced risk of suicide in veterans with lung cancer

Results from a large-scale patient population study, recently published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, reveal palliative care is associated with a reduced risk of suicide in veterans diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer.

10 Aug 2018

New medical program keeps elderly aged care residents out of hospital

A medical program developed by clinicians at one of Australia's largest hospitals, the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, is successfully keeping elderly aged care residents out of hospital and reducing demand on emergency departments.

7 Aug 2018

Palliative care offers extra layer of support while dealing with cancer

When you or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, it is normal to be overwhelmed by thoughts of prognosis, treatments, and potential complications. Patients wonder how their lives are going to change and whether their quality of life will ever return to normal.

2 Aug 2018

Missed visits, uncontrolled pain and fraud: report says hospice lacks oversight

Elderly patients spent over two weeks in uncontrolled pain or respiratory distress. Acute care was rare on weekends. And recruiters went door to door pitching fraudulent schemes, luring healthy patients to sign up for hospice in exchange for free housecleaning and medicine.

31 Jul 2018

Study: Reducing systolic blood pressure lowers MCI, dementia risk

Lowering one's blood pressure is beneficial not only for the heart, but also for the mind. For the first time, researchers have proved that lowering systolic blood pressure to 120 mm Hg or less reduces the risk of mild cognitive impairment, which in turn, reduces one's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

27 Jul 2018

Research: Dying at home could be beneficial for terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives

Dying at home could be beneficial for terminally ill cancer patients and their relatives, according to research published in the journal BMC Medicine.

20 Jul 2018

Rutgers Cancer Institute nurses research various topics to enhance patient experience

From peer and patient education to addressing treatment side effects and other patient care needs, nurses at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey researched a number of topics with an aim of enhancing the patient experience.

18 May 2018

New project aims to increase awareness among hospital clinicians of non-beneficial treatment at end-of-life

Advances in medicine mean health care professionals can prolong life, yet some treatments have a low chance of providing tangible benefits to some patients, can result in a 'bad death' and represent a multi-million dollar cost to the public purse.

18 May 2018

Study: Palliative care can improve seriously ill patient’s experience of care

Palliative care provided by specialist medical and nursing teams to patients with complex health needs significantly improves their experience of care, new research from Trinity College Dublin shows.

2 May 2018

Palliative care associated with shorter hospital stays and lower costs, study shows

Palliative care-;which better aligns medical treatments with patients' goals and wishes, aggressively treats distressing symptoms, and improves care coordination, -;is associated with shorter hospital stays and lower costs, and shows its greatest effect among the sickest patients, according to a study published Monday, April 30, in JAMA Internal Medicine.

30 Apr 2018

Gene therapy is the best stratagem to impact the course of GM2 gangliosidosis

Since its clinical description in 1881, Tay-Sachs disease has had almost totemic significance as a cruel and relentless genetic condition that destroys the developing brain of babies and young children.

28 Apr 2018

Five best practices to help reduce unplanned acute care for cancer patients

Unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations are debilitating for patients with cancer and far too common - and costly - for the United States health care system.

24 Apr 2018

Special series explores pasteurized donor human milk use for hospitalized infants

While the health effects of breastfeeding are well-recognized and apply to both mothers and children, some mothers may not be able to produce a milk supply to meet the needs of their child.

24 Apr 2018

Study highlights need for further evidence to improve symptom management in end of life care

A study looking at the personal perceptions and experiences of patients, families and healthcare professionals, has highlighted the need for improvement in symptom management in end of life care.

19 Apr 2018

What we know and don’t know about memory loss after surgery

Two years ago, Dr. Daniel Cole's 85-year-old father had heart bypass surgery. He hasn't been quite the same since.

12 Apr 2018

‘Aggressive’ new advance directive would let dementia patients refuse food

Treading into ethically and legally uncertain territory, a New York end-of-life agency has approved a new document that lets people stipulate in advance that they don't want food or water if they develop severe dementia.

30 Mar 2018

Clinical trial to test efficacy of stem cell transplants in stopping ALS muscle deterioration

Once funding is obtained, researchers can perform a clinical trial to test the efficacy of transplanting bone marrow cells into muscles to stop deterioration caused by the illness. The method has already yielded positive results on mice.

16 Mar 2018

Stroke patients and their families need more emotional support, study suggests

Doctors caring for severe stroke patients need to take account of their psychological needs and help prepare families for the possibility that they may not recover, a study suggests.

12 Mar 2018

Expanded model of care could relieve depression and fatigue in chronic heart failure patients

Patients with chronic heart failure face related problems, such as depression and fatigue, that could be relieved by an expanded model of care, according to a recently published study led by a researcher from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

27 Feb 2018

Researchers explore how people with Alzheimer's disease use end-of-life medical services

Because people are now living longer and often healthier lives, the rate of some illnesses that are more likely to develop with age has risen. These illnesses include dementia. In fact, the number of us living with dementia was already 47 million worldwide in 2015. It could reach 131 million by 2050.

22 Feb 2018