Palliative care is rapidly evolving as a multidimensional therapeutic model devoted to improving the quality of life of all patientswith life-threatening illness. Symptom control, management of psychosocial and spiritual concerns, decision making consistent with values and goals, and care of the imminently dying that is appropriate and sensitive to the unique needs of the individual and the family--these are among the critical issues addressed through pallaitive care. As this discipline has evolved, the need for research in all these areas has become widely acknowledged. Issues in Palliative Care Research describes both the progress that already has been made in the investigation of these issues and the methodologic elements that must be addressed in future studies. The perspective is broad and the overriding goal is to inform about the state of the art in these rapidly evolving areas of research.

This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. Palliative Care: The Nursing Role is an introductory text for nurses and other health care professionals who deliver palliative care across a range of settings. It lays a clear foundation of knowledge focusing on the needs and perspectives of patients and families who face the challenge of advanced, incurable illness. The style is highly accessible yet challenges readers to analyze key issues that present within palliative care. Covering the wide range of care provision in hospices, hospitals and patients' homes, the book draws widely from practice based examples to explain and expand upon theoretical issues. Research evidence underpins each of the chapters. Guided activities encourage readers to reflect, in a focused way, on their clinical experience and current practice. This new edition has been fully updated to reflect ongoing developments and shifting trends in palliative care education and practice. It will suit the needs of both pre and post-qualifying students seeking to develop their knowledge and is well suited to practitioners working within either generalist or specialist palliative care settings, or within acute or community settings as well as those studying a range of palliative care educational curricula. The authors have a wide range of experience in palliative care and all are actively engaged in practice and/or education. A clear, broad-based approach offers a thorough introduction for the non-specialist nurse. Written and edited by an experienced team of nurses working in this field, grounding it in current practice. Learning outcomes listed at the start of each chapter aid learning and comprehension. Reflective practice activities and an outline of CPD is especially useful for students working independently. Case histories, recommended reading lists, and references provide a solid evidence base for clinically based practice and facilitate further study. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect changes in policy direction. A new chapter on pain and symptom management. Revised content reflects the recent shift in the evidence base concerning spirituality. Includes psychosocial issues of loss for the patient, their family, and careers.

Palliative and end of life care are concerned with the physical, social, psychological and spiritual care of people with advanced disease. It currently has a poorly developed research base, but the need to improve this is increasingly recognised. One of the reasons for the lack of research - and the variable quality of the research that is undertaken - is the difficulty of conducting research with very ill and bereaved people. Standard and well-established research methods may need to be adapted to work in this context. This means that existing research methods textbooks may be of limited use to palliative care practitioners seeking to do research for the first time, or to more experienced researchers wanting to apply their knowledge in palliative care settings. This research methods textbook is the first to be written specifically for palliative care. It has been edited by four experienced palliative care academics with acknowledged expertise and international reputations in this field. It encompasses methods used in both clinical and health services research in palliative care, with sections on clinical, epidemiological, survey and qualitative research, as well as a section covering skills needed in any research project. Each chapter provides readers with an up to date overview of the research method in question, an understanding of its applicability to palliative care and of the particular challenges of using it in this setting. It is essential reading for all palliative care researchers.

The Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care covers all aspects of palliative care in a concise and succinct format suited to busy professionals who need to access key information in their daily care of patients. This new edition is revised throughout, with an additional emphasis on the nursing aspects of Palliative Care. The authors have included new sections on international palliative care, self care and liaison palliative care in acute hospitals. There is also extended material on the use of antibiotics, palliative care research and quality of life issues. The second edition of the Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care continues to be an invaluable resource for all health professionals working with adults, children and families with palliative care needs.

Participatory Research in Palliative Care discusses participatory research methods within the discipline of palliative care. Providing an overview of the action research methods, it uses exemplars from studies within palliative care, as well as discusses the prominent issues currently faced in this methodology from a global perspective.

The first edition of this book was the first authoritative, systematic and comprehensive text to define the increasingly important and evolving specialty of paediatric palliative care. It explores both the clinical aspects and the multidimensional and holistic nature of care for the dying child, based on the knowledge that all human experience has a physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual impact. The book covers ways of providing support in all of these areas both for the child, families, and carers, recognising the importance of teamwork and taking an evidence-based approach. The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Care for Children is about the care of children for whom cure of their underlying disease is not possible. It encompasses the physical management of symptoms such as pain and nausea, as well as social issues such as accessing appropriate education, emotional issues such as techniques for communication, and spiritual issues such as feelings of guilt and isolation. The book suggests that if we are to maintain the quality of life for a child it is essential to recognise all these dimensions and try to address them. This can only be done by recognising the skills of a wide range of professionals and working together in ways that are not always intuitive to any one discipline. It explores the multidimensional and holistic nature of care for the dying child. Those working in paediatric palliative care recognise that all human experience has emotional, psychological and spiritual impact as well as physical, and this book offers the essential information needed for those involved in paediatric care to find ways of providing support in all of these areas. Comprehensive in scope, exhaustive in detail, and definitive in authority, this second edition has been thoroughly updated to cover new practices, current epidemiological data and the evolving models that support the delivery of palliative medicine to children. Paediatric palliative care is now developing in countries with differing health care systems, and being adapted to suit individual illnesses and the varying resources and geography in different parts of the world. This book is an essential resource for anyone who works with children worldwide.

This issue of Nursing Clinics, Guest Edited by Mimi Mahon, features subject topics such as: Understanding Children's Involvment in Medical Decision Making; Symptom Management at End of Life; Assessing respiratory distress when the patient can’t self-report; Barriers to Palliative Care, Legislative Issues; End Stage Liver Disease: Symptoms & Practice Implications; Dying children: Creating opportunities out of a “Last Chance ; Decision making in palliative care; Discussing a family member's serious illness: children's and families' perspectives; Living with cognitive impairments in Long Term Care: Palliative Care & End of Life implications; Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Therapy; The patient and family perspectives: Living with cancer; Palliative care concepts in the sickle cell population.

The definitive Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine, now in its fifth edition, has again been thoroughly updated to offer a truly global perspective in this field of extraordinary talent and thoughtfulness. Updated to include new sections devoted to assessment tools, care of patients with cancer, and the management of issues in the very young and the very old, this leading textbook covers all the new and emerging topics since its original publication in 1993. In addition, the multi-disciplinary nature of palliative care is emphasized throughout the book, covering areas from ethical and communication issues, the treatment of symptoms and the management of pain. This fifth edition of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine is dedicated to the memory of Professor Geoffrey Hanks, pioneer in the field of palliative medicine, and co-editor of the previous four editions. Winner in the Medicine category of the British Medical Association Book Awards, this is a truly comprehensive text, no hospital, hospice, palliative care service, or medical library should be without this essential source of information.

Written by an established, comprehensive, multidisciplinary focused, internationally-recognized team, the sixth edition has been fully revised and brought up to date with the inclusion of recent developments in the speciality, to ensure that it retains its reputation as the definitive reference on palliative care.

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