Posted on 02/27/2023 7:43:18 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Palliative care—a specialized medical care focused on quality of life for people with a serious illness such as cancer or heart failure—isn't likely to reduce psychological distress, according to a study.
Researchers found there were no statistically significant improvements in patient or caregiver anxiety, depression or psychological distress in a meta-analysis of 38 randomized clinical trials of palliative care interventions. This study took results from 38 previously published studies and combined them to examine the average effect of the interventions on psychological distress.
In palliative care, general psychosocial support is often offered, but this approach is less effective than evidence-based therapeutic interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Palliative care interventions vary widely in terms of professional backgrounds of team members and use of evidence-based therapies for psychological distress.
Palliative care clinicians encounter psychological distress symptoms such as depression, sadness, anxiety, negative affect and fear among patients and their families regularly. Patients with cancers, heart failure and lung disease frequently experience increased depression symptoms as they approach the end of life.
Palliative care aims to identify, assess and manage pain and physical, psychological, social and spiritual concerns among patients experiencing serious illnesses and their families. However, the implementation of palliative care often has lacked fully integrating advances from psychological science and psychiatry to manage psychological distress.
The researchers uncovered no evidence to support the idea that palliative care interventions reduce psychological distress but did identify conceptual and methodological problems in the literature that could be remedied, such as including patients with existing mental health conditions in studies and increasing transparency and accountability through pretrial registration.
More work is needed to adapt and integrate evidence-based psychological interventions into studies of palliative care and evaluate outcomes in seriously ill populations. according to the researchers.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Cognitive behavioral therapy and other approaches appear to work better.
I know I will be praying and getting in touch with friends and family, during such time.
Lord, please have mercy.
Jimmy Carter getting palliative care right now.
they must be offered some hope.....
I don't want anybody telling me that they're going to help me die....I can do that all by myself....
Hope is the best of things....offer hope even a sliver and people will be more at ease.
Bttt
So there’s nowhere to hide from Jao and the rest of the ‘Rats?
Cherry, that is one of the reasons I have been posting these Health pings.
In the small number of cases I’ve seen, it’s impossible to get inside the mind of the patient.
I’m not sure what they mean by “caregiver.” Is it the employee at a hospice? The caregiving family member?
Lord, please have mercy.
And after praying, a little Hallelujah Chorus, and an uptempo version of Amazing Grace.
Pills can’t cure fear of death and dying. Patting someone on the head or hand, saying “there there” only makes the giver feel better. No one gets out of here alive. Sad for any one who has no Grace and Redemption.
cause it’s not covered by MCARE...
Yes, HOPE is what most terminally ill patients want. Most people, young and old, want to keep fighting.
I disagree with this 100%.
As a pharmacist I was worked with end stage palliative care years ago. We provided parental nutrition, antibiotic therapy, and most importantly pain control under the supervision of the attending physician. Most of our patients were terminal cancer victims. Our services allowed them to die at home with loved ones around them and pain free.
Oddly it was very satisfying work. I had to go to the patient daily or less than daily depending on his state of health. All of this was coordinated under the supervising physician. Nurses were also on the team and they were great.
The patient died pain free with those that loved him or her. The saddest part was collecting the IV equipment after the death. Without exception the family thanked me for what we provided.
It was a good job and a merciful job.
My brother and I have made an appointment with a palliative care doctor for my mom.
She’s 91 and had a stroke. She doesn’t want to see anymore doctors, but she’s having hallucinations at night that are scaring her.
We are hoping just to make her comfortable.
Hope this is the right way to handle things
That is beautiful. I appreciate you sharing that.
Palliative Care were a God send when I needed them.
When palliative came to assist me, They helped get my pain under control. I didn’t even know palliative care was used for psychological assistance. Unless by assisting with the physical, it in turn helps with the psychological.
Most people on palliative care are dying sooner rather than later. That tends to make people depressed and can be depressing for their loved ones as well
Palliative care is designed to give a higher level of care to alleviate physical symptoms
But at least their pain is decreased
My final months or years will be punctuated several times a day with the best marijuana available.
After that, all I need is good movies, a good cable connection, the Internet, and Free Republic.
As long as I am not in constant pain, or physically helpless, I will not be unhappy, lonely, bored, frightened, or a nuisance to anyone.
Interesting that the judicious use of benzos is not mentioned. There is a place for them in end of life care.
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