Levenseinde

Follow-up practices with bereaved families are considered a part of good medical care, yet little is known about pediatric oncologists' protocol with families when their patients die. The objective of this study was to examine follow-up practices employed by pediatric oncologists after patient death using an in-depth qualitative analysis.

Most cancer patients desire information about care options at the end of life, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Communicating such care options can be challenging and is part of advance care planning (ACP). Our prior studies with video educational media produced data on patients' categoric preferences (yes/no/unsure) for CPR; however, the thematic underpinnings of these educated preferences in patients treated for advanced cancer aren't well known.

Administration of chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life is a widely recognized indicator of poor end-of-life (EOL) care. The current study aimed to investigate predictors of this outcome, focusing on patients' self-reported psychological symptoms.

In het Congresboek vindt u alle abstracts die ingediend werden voor het 3de Congres in de psychosociale oncologie van 1 december '15.

In opdracht van Kom op tegen Kanker onderzoeken we de psychosociale ervaringen en eventuele problemen van alleenwonende patiënten met kanker die uitbehandeld zijn (AKU-patiënten). Daarbij hebben we ook aandacht voor de coping strategieën die ze gebruiken en de formele en informele hulp die ze eventueel krijgen.

Binnen de psychosociale ervaring van onze onderzoekspopulatie, gaan we op zoek naar de attitude die ze innemen ten aanzien van hun alleenwonende en palliatieve toestand.

Methode

De komende jaren zal de proportie ouderen in de samenleving blijven groeien, en daarmee ook de proportie van ouderen met kanker. Dit onderzoek heeft als doel de zorg in de laatste drie maanden van het leven te beschrijven in de twee belangrijkste settings waar ouderen verblijven, thuis en woonzorgcentra. Specifiek worden behandeldoelen gedurende de laatste 3 levensmaanden, voorafgaande zorgplanning, en verhuis tussen zorgsettings bestudeerd.

Methode

Many people who might benefit from specialist palliative care services are not using them. We examined the use of these services and the reasons for not using them in a population in potential need of palliative care.

Methode

We conducted a population-based survey regarding end-of-life care among physicians certifying a large representative sample (n=6188) of deaths in Flanders, Belgium.

Resultaten

While palliative care is still often viewed as care for the final stage of life provided usually by specialist health care professionals, ideally, a palliative care approach would start at an earlier stage, with an important role being assigned to the family physician (FP). However, the description of what the FP’s tasks would be in the integration of a palliative care approach into the care continuum remains vague. Our aim was to explore the views of FPs, nurses and patients about the tasks of the FP in palliative care for people with a life-limiting illness from diagnosis onwards.