Palliative Care News and Research

RSS

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.

The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission: Tackling inequalities, hidden costs, and empowering patients

Breast cancer is now the world's most common cancer; at the end of 2020, 7.8 million women were alive having been diagnosed in the previous five years.

16 Apr 2024

Study shows strong social ties may ease the way for older adults in life's final chapter

Study across 19 countries delves into how social connections influence end-of-life outcomes for older adults, revealing that stronger social ties can affect symptom management, healthcare utilization, and the place of death.

4 Apr 2024

Needle pain is a big problem for kids. One California doctor has a plan.

Almost all new parents go through it: the distress of hearing their child scream at the doctor's office.

20 Mar 2024

Unmet social needs negatively impact quality of life of dementia patients and caregivers

People with dementia and those who care for them should be screened for loneliness, so providers can find ways to keep them socially connected, according to experts at UC San Francisco and Harvard, who made the recommendations after finding that both groups experienced declines in social well-being as the disease progressed.

18 Mar 2024

Researchers sound a clarion call for greater investment in bereavement care

The public health toll from bereavement is well-documented in the medical literature, with bereaved persons at greater risk for many adverse outcomes, including mental health challenges, decreased quality of life, health care neglect, cancer, heart disease, suicide, and death.

15 Mar 2024

UK lags in cancer treatment compared to other countries

People in the UK were treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy less often than in comparable countries and faced long waits for treatments, according to two new studies published in The Lancet Oncology.

26 Feb 2024

Sharing positive palliative care stories to improve rural end-of-life support

Talking about and planning for death is uncomfortable, especially when it comes to a loved one.

7 Feb 2024

Closing the Cancer Care Gap with the Power of Precision Oncology

According to American Cancer Society, Cancer causes about 1 in every 6 deaths globally, more than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

From MGI 5 Feb 2024

Virtual relaxation therapy reduces distress in end-of-life care

A new study published in Frontiers in Virtual Reality explored the effectiveness of a psychological strategy called Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Therapy (FLOW-VRT)® in helping people cope with their symptoms and achieve relaxation at the end of life.

1 Feb 2024

European consortium awarded €6.5M to study psychedelic-assisted therapy

A European consortium of 19 partners has been awarded over €6.5M by the European Union to study psilocybin to treat psychological distress in people with progressive incurable illnesses requiring palliative care.

24 Jan 2024

Palliative telecare provides lasting quality of life improvements for chronically ill patients

Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found that a team intervention, provided by phone, leads to persistent improvements in depression, anxiety, and quality of life for people managing chronic illnesses.

16 Jan 2024

New strategy makes palliative care more accessible to patients with chronic illnesses

Ordering a palliative care consultation by "default" – via an automatic order programmed into the electronic medical record that doctors may cancel if they choose – is an effective strategy to give more hospitalized patients the opportunity to benefit from palliative care, and sooner, according to a new study led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

16 Jan 2024

COVID-19's unseen impact: study reveals surge in home deaths across 32 countries

Trends in places of death across 32 countries during and before the COVID-19.

5 Jan 2024

68Ga-FAPI PET imaging superior to existing methods for detecting pancreatic cancer

PET imaging with 68Ga-FAPI can more effectively detect and stage pancreatic cancer as compared with 18F-FDG imaging or contrast-enhanced CT, according to new research published in the December issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

2 Jan 2024

Study reveals burnout and professional dissatisfaction driving physicians to leave their practices

Study investigates the prevalence of burnout, professional fulfillment, and intention to leave among physicians, revealing significant variations based on gender, age, race, and specialty.

1 Jan 2024

Study highlights underutilization of end-of-life care for patients with malignant urinary obstruction

Less than half of patients with malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO) – a serious complication of advanced cancer, with a poor prognosis – receive palliative care (PC) for their condition, reports a paper in the January issue of Urology Practice, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA).

21 Dec 2023

Groundbreaking treatment tool being developed for male breast cancer diagnosis

Doctors diagnosed Christopher Gregg, Ph.D., member of the Nuclear Control of Cell Growth and Differentiation Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) and neuroscientist and professor of neurobiology and human genetics at the U, with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in 2018.

21 Dec 2023

Psilocybin may benefit individuals with cancer and major depression

Results from a phase II clinical trial indicate that psilocybin, a hallucinogenic chemical found in certain mushrooms of the genus Psiloybe, may benefit individuals with cancer and major depression.

18 Dec 2023

Dementia patients often receive different treatment after hospital transfer, study finds

It is common for individuals seeking medical care for symptoms of concern to go to the nearest hospital. Physicians there may determine the facility cannot provide the care they believe the patient needs and recommend transfer to another hospital offering a higher level of care or specialized services.

28 Nov 2023

$3.9 million NIH grant supports research on the Effects of integrated palliative care on Parkinson’s, related dementia

A five-year, $3.9 million grant to study the effects of integrated palliative care on health service outcomes and disparities in Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia has been awarded to UTHealth Houston and other institutions by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health.

15 Nov 2023