Journal of Palliative Care最新文献

{"title":"Comparison of Palliative Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Expectation of German Paramedics Between a Rural and an Urban Structured Emergency Medical Service Area.","authors":"Daniel Chwallek, Adam Schweda, Martin Neukirchen, Joachim Risse, Jörg Hense, Martin Teufel, Mitra Tewes","doi":"10.1177/08258597231221916","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/08258597231221916","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective(s): </strong>Differences in the German emergency medical service (EMS) can be seen in the countryside in contrast to the city with regard to travel distances to hospitals and in the access routes of EMS-physicians. In order to investigate the success of establishment of palliative crisis cards associated with training and the rural and urban EMS structures, two urban and two rural EMS areas were compared using the Paramedic Palliative Care Test (PARPACT). <b>Methods:</b> The PARPACT includes test items on palliative knowledge (PK, maximum score: 15 points) and palliative self-efficacy expectations (PSE, maximum score: 18 points), as well as items on palliative attitudes in dealing with palliative care patients. We used a 4-point Likert-type scale. For data analysis, nonparametric tests (χ-test and Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test) were used in addition to descriptive analysis (frequencies, means, medians, standard deviations, and ranges). <b>Results:</b> In total, 291 out of 750 ambulance or EMS personnel participated in the voluntary survey. Rural ambulance or EMS personnel answered the PK-questions correctly more often on average (mean: 11.19, SD: 1.85) than urban ambulance or EMS personnel (mean: 9.18, SD: 2.39; Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test: <i>U</i>=5040.000, <i>P</i>=.001). In addition, ambulance or EMS personnel with the highest level of training (3-year-trained paramedics) performed better in PK (mean: 10.38, SD: 2.31) than less intensively training ambulance or EMS personnel (mean: 9.58, SD: 2.43; Mann-Whitney <i>U</i>-test: <i>U</i>=8446.500, <i>P</i>=.004). In terms of PSE, rural ambulance or EMS personnel also achieved higher mean PSE-scores (mean: 12.55, SD: 2.60) than urban ambulance or EMS personnel (mean: 9.77, SD: 3.41; Mann-Whitney <i>U</i>-test: <i>U</i>=5148.500, <i>P</i>=.001). <b>Conclusions:</b> Better training in the EMS is associated with improved PK compared to less qualified nonphysician EMS staff. The establishment of palliative crisis cards and the structures in the city alone do not lead to improved knowledge and PSE.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139906863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Power and Potential of Photography as a Therapeutic Modality for Children with Life-Impacting Illnesses.","authors":"Mason Henrich, Karen Henrich","doi":"10.1177/08258597231189152","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597231189152","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objectives:</b> Art is being increasingly appreciated for its healing capacity in pediatric medicine. However, while mediums like music and painting have already been widely integrated into children's health institutions across the nation, photography is an artform that is greatly understudied in its application to medicine. As a non-profit organization with a 17-year history of providing free in-hospital/in-hospice photography sessions to the families of children with life-impacting illnesses, we set out to evaluate the therapeutic capacity of this intervention. <b>Methods:</b> Individuals having received Moment by Moment Photography's services from June 2022 to January 2023 were invited to complete a five-question survey assessing the nature and quality of their photography session and the resulting photographs they received. <b>Results:</b> All but one of the 177 participants found the photographs impactful, and the overwhelming majority (95.5%) of participants rated the value of the photographs as high as possible (5/5 on a Likert scale). Further, a dozen themes, including love, share, connect, and fight, among others, were identified that articulate the diversity of ways that \"impact\" manifested in families. <b>Conclusion:</b> Together, these results clearly support the benefit of photography as a legacy making and therapeutic medium.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10242622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Difficult Conversations: Outcomes of Emergency Department Nurse-Directed Goals-of-Care Discussions.","authors":"Suzanne Bigelow, Ron Medzon, Mari Siegel, Ruyun Jin","doi":"10.1177/08258597221149402","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597221149402","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objective:</b> This study aims to evaluate the potential impact of addressing goals-of-care (GOC) with selected patients in the emergency department (ED), GOC documentation, hospital utilization, and patient satisfaction. <b>Method:</b> This is a single-center, retrospective, and prospective, observational convenience-sample study. ED registered nurses (ED RNs) received standardized GOC conversation training. Their selection criteria included a selection interview, a minimum of 3 years of ED clinical experience, and current employment in the ED. ED RNs used a standardized GOC questionnaire. Patient inclusion criteria included age ≥18 years and one or more of the following: chronic kidney disease ≥ stage III, congestive heart failure with an ejection fraction ≤ 40%, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with home oxygen use, and/or malignancy with metastasis. GOC conversations were recorded in the electronic medical record (EMR). Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms were completed as appropriate. Select individual patient data for the 12 months prior to the conversation were compared with the following 12 months. <b>Results:</b> Over 6 months, 94 of 133 patients who were approached consented to the GOC discussion with the RN. All 94 enrolled patients had their GOC recorded into the EMR. One-third already had a completed POLST form prior to ED arrival. 50% without a POLST on ED arrival left with a completed POLST. Eighty-four patients survived the index visit and 46 patients survived to study completion. Patient satisfaction with the interaction was high: In the cohort who survived past the index visit, 95% rated their experience at 4/5 or 5/5 (Likert scale, 5: strongly agree, 1: strongly disagree). In the survival-to-study completion cohort, 100% rated their experience as 4/5 or 5/5. Subsequent median ED visits decreased by 15% (1.0-4.0 interquartile range). There were no statistically significant changes in hospitalizations (both decreased by 25%, 0-3.0) or intensive care unit admissions (0%, 0-0). <b>Conclusions:</b> An ED RN-led GOC conversation had high patient satisfaction and 100% GOC documentation in the EMR. There was a significant increase in ED POLST form completion. There were no significant changes noted in subsequent hospitalizations, length of hospitalization, or intensive care unit utilization.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10834541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Challenges in the Provision of Pediatric Palliative Care in Mexico: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey.","authors":"Elena Solveig Grüneberg, Jorge Ramos-Guerrero, Tania Pastrana","doi":"10.1177/08258597211062767","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597211062767","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objective:</b> An enormous need for pediatric palliative care (PPC) has been reported, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, the access to PPC is limited. This study identifies the current challenges in the provision of PPC and their severity from the perspective of healthcare professionals. <b>Method:</b> We conducted a web-based descriptive cross-sectional survey among healthcare professionals treating children in need of palliative care in Mexico in 2019. We used convenience sampling and snowball sampling to acquire participants. <b>Results:</b> Seventy healthcare professionals from Mexico participated. Participants were 64.3% female, on average 45.8 (SD = 10.9) years old, had an average of 15.84 (SD = 10.4) years of work experience and worked in 15 states. The three most severe barriers reported were: <i>(1) Few teams and/or networks of out-of-hospital/domestic support; (2) Absence of training centres and continuing medical/paramedical education in PPC; and (3) Lack of legal, labor, and economic protection for parents who must stop working to be with their children.</i> The barriers related to a lack of awareness and commitment, a lack of support, legal factors, and working conditions were rated highest. Participants considered increased awareness and better knowledge of PPC for all as the top priority, and particularly emphasized the need for better education and training of health professionals. <b>Conclusion:</b> We have identified several barriers to successful palliative care (PC) provision for children. Primarily, these are lack of awareness and commitment, especially of the health authorities and the medical professions, lack of personal and financial support, legal factors, and working conditions. The need to change and improve care exists at the policy level, the health professional level, and the public societal level.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10687805/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39718742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Chinese Version of the Palliative Nursing Care Quality Scale: Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation, and Validity.","authors":"Qingwei Liu, Meng Zhang, Xiaojing Guo, Yuchen Zhang, Tong Qin, Ying Wang, Yubiao Gai","doi":"10.1177/08258597231204593","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597231204593","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Nurses play an important role in palliative care, and high-quality assessment tools can help standardize palliative-related nursing behaviors, but there are no such tools in China.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to revise, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the Palliative Nursing Care Quality Scale (PNCQS) to provide an effective tool that can help nurses in mainland China assess the quality of palliative care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study involved a 2-steps process. First, the PNCQS was translated, back-translated, and cross-cultural adapted using Brislin's translation model. Second, a cross-sectional study was used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the revised scale. From January to February 2023, 367 nurses engaged in palliative care-related nursing from 3 tertiary A general hospitals were surveyed with the revised scale. The evaluation methods used in this study included item analysis, test-retest reliability, internal consistency, criterion-related validity, content validity, and construct validity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The PNCQS-Chinese included 20 items. In this study, the item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.67 to 0.83 (<i>P </i>< .01), and the critical ratio value of the items was 12.10 to 23.34 (<i>P </i>< .01). The scale-level content validity index was 0.98, and the item-level content validity ranged from 0.86 to 1.00. The total Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability of the scale were 0.96 and 0.79, respectively. Factor analysis of 20 items extracted 1 factor, and the contribution rate of cumulative variance was 60.03%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PNCQS-Chinese shows acceptable validity and reliability for assessing the quality of palliative care-related nursing in mainland China.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41219588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conducting Goals of Care Conversations: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic.","authors":"Alison T Lai, Nadine Abdullah","doi":"10.1177/08258597231153386","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597231153386","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objective:</b> Internal medicine (IM) residents discuss a patient's goals of care (GOC) as part of their initial consultation. Residents have described inexperience, general discomfort, limited formal teaching, and prognostic uncertainty as barriers to effective GOC conversations. The early COVID-19 pandemic resulted in rapid changes to the healthcare system on the individual, patient, and systemic level that might exacerbate and/or introduce new barriers to IM residents' GOC conversations. This qualitative study examines how the early COVID-19 pandemic challenged IM residents' ability to have effective GOC conversations. <b>Methods:</b> Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, participants (n=11) completed a semi-structured interview. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously using an open coding, constant comparison process. Interviews were completed until no new themes were identified. <b>Results:</b> Residents self-described their GOC conversations in 5 steps: normalization of the conversation, introduction of expected clinical course, discussion of possible care plans, exploration of the patient's values, and occasionally providing a recommendation. Residents described limited structured teaching around GOC conversations and instead relied on observed role-modelling and self-practice to hone their skillset. Residents described an increased sense of urgency to have GOC conversations due to the uncertainty of clinical course and potential for rapid deterioration of patients with COVID-19. Residents identified restrictive visitor policies as a significant barrier that contributed to feelings of dehumanization. Residents felt that these limitations affected their GOC conversations and potentially resulted in discordant care plans which contributed to moral distress. <b>Conclusion:</b> The early COVID-19 pandemic resulted in several barriers that challenged residents' ability to conduct effective GOC conversations. This is on the background of previously reported discomfort and limited formal training in conducting GOC conversations. Based on our findings, we present a conceptual model involving teaching validated GOC frameworks, positive role-modelling, and experiential learning to support GOC conversation education in post-graduate medical education.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/13/ce/10.1177_08258597231153386.PMC9895296.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10657166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cultural Adaptation and Testing of the Italian Version of the Edmonton Functional Assessment Tool-2 (EFAT2-I).","authors":"Andrea Magrelli, Paolo Scannavini, Daniela D'Angelo, Chiara Maria Latini, Silvia Felli, Marco Di Nitto, Giuseppina Russo, Chiara Mastroianni, Giovanni Navalesi, Giuseppe Casale","doi":"10.1177/08258597211059304","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597211059304","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Physiotherapy in Palliative Care (PC) is effective in the management of a series of respiratory, circulatory and motor symptoms, and often has a positive impact on the patient's mood. The Edmonton Functional Assessment Tool (EFAT) is the only existing validated tool specifically designed for functional assessment in PC, and its use has been recommended in clinical practice. To date, no Italian version of the tool has been validated. The aim of this study was to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the EFAT2.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>After receiving formal permission from the author, Beaton guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation were followed, namely: (1) forward translation; (2) a multidisciplinary focus group (including 4 physiotherapists, 1 physician, 3 nurses, 1 occupational therapist, 1 psychologist) to assess semantic, idiomatic, experiential, and conceptual equivalence; (3) backward translation. The Content Validity Index (CVI) was used to assess content validity of the tool. Construct and concurrent validity were also evaluated. To evaluate the reliability of the EFAT2-I, reliability was measured using Cronbach alfa, item-total correlation, and Cohen's Kappa.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>119 patients admitted to a Palliative Care Unit (Italy) agreed to participate in the study. The EFAT2-I mean score was 11.3, ranging from 0 to 30. Very good CVI scores were achieved, both in terms of single item validity (I-CVI) and of whole scale validity (S-CVI). Positive results were obtained from construct, concurrent validity assessment and measures of reliability.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The EFAT2-I showed good psychometric properties and can be used as a rehabilitation assessment tool in palliative care settings. The validation of the Italian version will allow comparison of different centres and palliative care facilities on national and international levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39885518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of Advance Care Planning Self-efficacy Scale for Physicians.","authors":"Yanan Zhou, Zhiling Bai, Lin Cheng, Qin Zheng, Li Li","doi":"10.1177/08258597231185679","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597231185679","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background:</b> Chinese patients prefer physicians to initiate advance care planning (ACP) conversations, but there is no appropriate tool to evaluate physicians' ACP self-efficacy level in mainland China. This study aimed to translate the ACP self-efficacy scale into Chinese (ACP-SEc) and measure its psychometric properties among clinical physicians. <b>Method:</b> The original scale was translated by literal translation, synthesis, and reverse translation, according to Brislin's translation model. Seven experts were invited to further revise the scale and evaluate the content validity. 348 physicians were conveniently sampled to evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale from May to June 2021 in 7 tertiary hospitals. <b>Results:</b> The ACP-SEc contained 17 items, 1 dimension, with a total score of 17 to 85 points. In this study, the critical ratios of the items ranged from 12.533 to 23.306, the item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.619 to 0.839. The item-content validity index ranged from 0.86 to 1.00, and the average scale-level content validity index was 0.98. In total, 75.507% of the total variance was explained by 1 common factor. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that the fitting indices of the modified model were desirable. The ACP-SEc was moderately correlated with General Self-Efficacy Scale (<i>r</i> = 0.675, <i>P</i> < .001), and it differentiated between physician groups based on the knowledge level of ACP, palliative care or ACP-related training experience, attitude toward ACP, willingness to initiate ACP discussions with patients, and experience of discussing ACP with family and friends, willingness to initiate ACP discussions with family and friends (<i>P</i> <.05). The total Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability of the scale were .960 and .976, respectively. <b>Conclusion:</b> The ACP-SEc shows good reliability and validity, and it can be used to assess the ACP self-efficacy level of physicians.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9815328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Translation, Adaptation, and Validation of the Swedish Serious Illness Conversation Guide.","authors":"Sofia Andersson, Lisa Granat, Rebecca Baxter, Helene Reimertz, Carina Modéus, Susanna Pusa, Anna Sandgren","doi":"10.1177/08258597231210136","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597231210136","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Objective:</b> To translate and adapt the Serious Illness Conversation Guide for use within the Swedish healthcare setting and examine the validity and acceptability of the Swedish Serious Illness Conversation Guide. <b>Methods:</b> Three rounds of cognitive interviews were conducted (T1-3); patients (T1 n = 11; T2 n = 10; T3 n = 8), family members (T1 n = 5; T2 n = 2; T3 n = 2), and healthcare professionals (T1 n = 6; T2 n = 6; T3 n = 5). The guide was iteratively adapted based on interview feedback, clinical experience, and the literature. The guide was tested on training days with physicians and nurses. <b>Results:</b> The Swedish Serious Illness Conversation Guide was found to be useful in supporting serious illness conversations. Clinicians reported that some questions were emotionally challenging. Explicit questions about prognosis and timing were excluded. Instead, the dual approach of \"hoping for the best and preparing for the worst\" was used to explore patients' thoughts about the future. <b>Conclusions:</b> Patients, family members, and healthcare professionals found the Swedish Serious Illness Conversation Guide to be appropriate, sensitive, and responsive to their needs. The Swedish Serious Illness Conversation Guide may facilitate a more health-promoting approach to serious illness conversations. Further research is needed to understand the impact of these conversations on person-centered and goal-concordant care.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10687820/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"54232053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dermatological Diseases in Palliative Care Patients in a University Hospital: A Prospective Study.","authors":"Erdal Pala, Pınar Tosun Tasar, Ahmet Onur Soguksu, Omer Karasahin, Can Sevinc","doi":"10.1177/08258597221119063","DOIUrl":"10.1177/08258597221119063","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Patients receiving palliative care are more prone to dermatological disease. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of dermatological diseases and associated factors in patients receiving palliative care support.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective observational study included inpatients in the palliative care unit of our university hospital in Erzurum/TURKEY. The patients were evaluated by the same dermatologist within the first 48 h of admission and 3 days a week during follow-up. Demographic data, reasons for admission to the palliative care unit, and skin lesions at the time of admission and during follow-up were recorded.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median age of the 259 patients included in the study was 77.0 years (min- max, 19-108) and 54.4% were women. Dermatological disease was detected in 246 patients (96.1%) at admission to the palliative care unit and in 185 patients (71.4%) patients during follow-up. The most common dermatological disease at admission was dry skin (n  =  175, 67.6%), which was also the most common cause of pruritis (n  =  29, 11.2%). The most common skin infection was dermatophytosis (n  =  57, 22.0%) and the most common type of dermatitis was contact dermatitis (n  =  17, 6.6%). Nearly all tumors were benign (n  =  32, 12.4%) and most chronic wounds were pressure ulcers (n  =  96, 37.1%). During hospital follow-up, the most frequent dermatitis was contact dermatitis (n  =  44, 17.0%), the most frequent skin infection was candidiasis (n  =  25, 9.7%), the most common chronic wound was pressure ulcers (n  =  25, 9.7%), the most common dermatological disease was urticaria (n  =  14, 5.4%), and all cases of pruritus were associated with dry skin (n  =  8, 3.1%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The frequency of dermatological findings is high among patients receiving palliative care. Therefore, dermatologists should be included in multidisciplinary palliative care teams and evaluate palliative care patients early and regularly.</p>","PeriodicalId":51096,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Palliative Care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40594181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}