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.

New countries join ESMO Designated Centre of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care

Patient eligibility for opioids is seriously restricted in some countries, with the highest rate of limited access to palliative care found in the Middle East, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia. Data are revealed by the ESMO Global Opioid Policy Initiative (GOPI) which identifies barriers to the availability and accessibility of essential pain relieving medication worldwide.

26 Sep 2015

Pediatric cancer diagnosis can take a significant toll on financial well-being of families

Almost one-third of families whose children were being treated for cancer faced food, housing or energy insecurity and one-quarter lost more than 40 percent of household income, according to a new study from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

26 Sep 2015

Terminally ill patients with certain subtypes of delirium show higher probability of imminent death

In cancer patients nearing the end of life, certain subtypes of delirium—specifically, hypoactive and "mixed" delirium—are a strong indicator that death will come soon, reports a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

24 Sep 2015

ACCC survey highlights challenges and recent trends in U.S. cancer programs

The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) recently released results of its sixth annual Trends in Cancer Programs survey, highlighting the challenges and recent trends seen in U.S. cancer programs.

18 Sep 2015

Researchers address challenges of effective universal health coverage focusing on caring for chronic illnesses

Researchers from the University of Miami and Harvard University address the challenges of effective universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on solving one of the most pressing issues: the care of chronic illnesses. Their suggestions, aimed at strengthening health care systems, include recommendations based on a "diagonal approach" for managing health care.

14 Sep 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers develop new resource tool to monitor trends in geriatric health services

Using data from their detailed analysis of senior medical services offered by nearly 5,000 U.S. hospitals before the 2009 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), researchers led by a Johns Hopkins geriatrician say they have developed a Senior Care Services Scale (SCSS) that suggests a serious “mismatch” between what’s offered and what older adult populations need.

11 Sep 2015

Special issue provides update on mental health diagnosis and treatment of older adults

The aging of the population, shifting diagnostic criteria, and new health care policy initiatives are some of the factors driving changes in mental health treatment for older Americans, according to the September special issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

10 Sep 2015

Free online end of life care course

Sheffield Hallam University is teaming up with St Luke's Hospice to launch a free online course supporting health and social care workers in providing palliative or end of life care.

8 Sep 2015

Inpatient palliative care visits associated with improved quality of life for patients with heart failure

A recent randomized trial conducted by researchers at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, part of Allina Health, found that inpatient palliative care (PC) visits were associated with improved quality of life and symptom burden for patients with heart failure (HF).

26 Aug 2015

Three medical oncologists to receive ESMO's acclaimed awards

The European Society for Medical Oncology, the leading European professional organisation for advancing medical oncology, announced today the three exceptional medical oncologists who will receive its acclaimed awards.

24 Aug 2015

Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership aims to be the first NHS Trust to review all deaths

Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership NHS Trust, the UK’s biggest provider of community health and adult social care, is aiming to be the first NHS Trust in the country to review all deaths.

17 Aug 2015

Opioids produced by yeast; revealing the potential for cheaper pain relief

Researchers at Stanford University have genetically engineered yeast so it produces hydrocodone, a semi-synthetic opioid analgesic used in the United States for relief of moderate to severe pain.

14 Aug 2015

Study finds that every second person dies in hospital

At home on the sofa, in a hospital bed, or in a care home: where a death takes place is always recorded on the death certificate. Until now, however, this information has never been collated and evaluated. In an Original Article in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztbl Int 112:496-504), Burkhard Dasch and his co-authors analyze for the first time the place of death records for Germany.

13 Aug 2015

Pediatricians, mental health providers can improve outcomes in children with mental and behavioral disorders

For the past decade, cutting-edge health care providers and researchers have increasingly pushed to integrate care for mental health and substance use problems within primary medical care for children and adolescents.

11 Aug 2015

Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association's President & CEO receives FSAE's Executive of the Year award

Last Friday, Florida Hospice & Palliative Care Association's President & CEO, Paul Ledford, received the Florida Society of Association Executives "Executive of the Year for 2015" in front of over 400 of his peers. FSAE is a 1000+ member organization of association professionals and vendors that support the association world and profession.

23 Jul 2015

Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf issues statement on upcoming MEDICA 2015

To get to the top is difficult; to stay at the top is even more difficult. Every athlete knows that and this also applies to the trade show business.

21 Jul 2015

Stroke survivors experience accelerated, persistent cognitive decline over six years

Stroke has fallen to the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States due to decreases in people dying from it, and this increase in survivors has led to questions about their health in the years following stroke.

13 Jul 2015

UCSF workshop helps improve palliative care communication skills among critical care nurses

A workshop at the University of California San Francisco helped critical care nurses improve their palliative care communication skills, according to an article in the July issue of the American Journal of Critical Care.

1 Jul 2015

Roswell Park, Lakeshore Cancer Center partner to improve access to cancer care for Nigerians

America's oldest cancer center and one of the world's newest oncology centers are partnering to improve access to cancer prevention, screening and care for the people of Nigeria. Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Lakeshore Cancer Center have announced an affiliation that will see Roswell Park faculty providing clinical consultations to assist LCC oncologists, who will also have access to both training at RPCI and continuing professional education seminars they can participate in remotely.