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.

Study collects data on 30-day mortality for breast, lung cancer patients after SACT to improve patient care

For the first time, national data on 30-day mortality for patients with breast and lung cancer treated with chemotherapy have been collected and analysed in order to help clinical teams review and improve patient care, and identify groups of patients who may have additional needs.

31 Aug 2016

Scripps collaborates with MD Anderson for clinically integrated cancer care program

Scripps Health and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have reached a partnership agreement to create Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center, a comprehensive and clinically integrated cancer care program in San Diego that will provide adult cancer patients greater access to the most advanced oncology care available throughout Southern California.

29 Aug 2016

Focused therapy may be effective, less toxic way to treat brain tumors

Physicians from Carolinas HealthCare System's Neurosciences Institute and Levine Cancer Institute are among the authors of a study that was accepted for publication by the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, released on July 26, 2016, shows that patients with the most common form of brain tumor can be treated in an effective and substantially less toxic way by omitting a widely used portion of radiation therapy.

27 Jul 2016

Delirium underdiagnosed in advanced cancer patients visiting emergency department

A new study indicates that delirium is relatively frequent and underdiagnosed by physicians in patients with advanced cancer visiting the emergency department.

25 Jul 2016

Researchers discover novel neuroprotection strategies to slow progression of Parkinson's disease

Using a robust model for Parkinson's disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and colleagues have discovered an interaction in neurons that contributes to Parkinson's disease, and they have shown that drugs now under development may block the process.

20 Jul 2016

Policies restricting opioid prescriptions could harm pain patients, suggests review

A recent review and analysis suggests that some policies restricting opioid prescriptions to curb overdose deaths could be harming those who need them the most: pain patients.

13 Jul 2016

First-of-its kind study investigates effects of palliative care for medical decision-makers, caregivers

Shannon Carson, MD, professor of medicine and division chief of Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine, along with co-principal investigator Judith Nelson, MD, JD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Christopher Cox, MD, of Duke University, led a four-year, first-of-its kind clinical study on the effects of palliative care for medical decision-makers.

12 Jul 2016

Palliative care-led support does not reduce caregiver anxiety, study finds

Among families of patients with chronic critical illness, the use of palliative care-led informational and emotional support meetings compared with usual care did not reduce anxiety or depression symptoms, according to a study appearing in the July 5 issue of JAMA.

7 Jul 2016

New coaching program aims to help family caregivers of cancer patients stay healthy

UAB School of Nursing postdoctoral fellow J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Ph.D., has received a five-year, $935,000 K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research to develop a palliative care health-coaching program for family caregivers of persons with advanced cancer.

6 Jul 2016

New report reveals lack of attention in implementing government recommendations on end of life care

On the same day as the Government will respond to the Review into Choice at the End of Life, a new report reveals that, despite an abundance of government recommendations on end of life care in England, not enough attention has been given to how policies are implemented and there is uncertainty in terms of whether they have actually led to improvements in patient care.

6 Jul 2016

University report explores efficacy of palliative care in England

A new report by Sheffield Hallam University has revealed that, despite an abundance of government recommendations on end of life care in England, there is uncertainty as to whether they have led to improvements in patient care.

From Sheffield Hallam University 6 Jul 2016

Study highlights need to improve end-of-life care for all patients with serious illnesses

Historically, efforts to improve end-of-life care have focused primarily on patients with cancer. But few studies have looked at the quality of end-of-life care for patients with other serious illnesses, such as lung, kidney or heart failure or dementia.

27 Jun 2016

Novel combination therapy slows cancer growth in patients with advanced solid tumors

A phase 1 clinical trial testing a novel combination therapy developed by scientists at VCU Massey Cancer Center slowed the growth of cancer in the majority of trial participants, which were patients with advanced solid tumors.

22 Jun 2016

Researchers explore how African-Americans use spirituality to ease burden of chronic illnesses

Spirituality plays a central role in many aspects of African-American culture, and University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing postdoctoral scholar Deborah Ejem, Ph.D., will explore how significant a factor it is in the relationships among patients with chronic illnesses and their caregivers and clinicians.

16 Jun 2016

In-hospital program improves community mobility, posthospitalization function in older adults

Decreased mobility during hospitalization for older adults is associated with increased risk of death, nursing home admission and functional decline. University of Alabama at Birmingham investigators found that patients who participated in a mobility program were less likely to experience a decline in mobility when compared to the usual care provided during hospilization.

16 Jun 2016

How can we defeat drug resistance? An interview with Dr Grania Brigden

The O’Neill report is a wide ranging report recognising anti-microbial resistance (AMR) as a global problem with major public health and economic significance.

15 Jun 2016

High-quality palliative care can help offset severe anxiety symptoms in terminal cancer patients

A new study out of Chang Gung University School of Nursing in Taiwan suggests that people with cancer experience severe anxiety toward end of life, not solely due to proximity to death, but rather to factors related to psychosocial issues and disease burden.

13 Jun 2016

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