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Palliative Care as an Integrated Response in the Healthcare System

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences & Services".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 2966

Special Issue Editors

Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
Interests: health policy; health management; bioethics
Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
Interests: bioethics; medical ethics and environmental ethics; global justice and human
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
Interests: palliative care; psychological care; spirituality; bioethics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The increase in the aging population and chronic illnesses raises certain ethical, social, organizational and professional challenges for the future. It follows that the concept of the terminally ill patient may evolve, for very different reasons, namely the increasing life expectancy, uncertainty in prognosis and the rapid progression of science and biotechnology. Palliative care emerges as a response to these needs, in which the demand for an early integration of patients in palliative care will possibly increase in the future. The role of each participant is fundamental to promote communication, education, biopsychosocial-spiritual care and to increase the wellbeing of patients and families, of the healthcare team and of the community. The healthcare system must be prepared to deal with these challenges in order to respond efficiently and equitably to society.

Original research studies, scoping and systematic reviews following the PRISMA guidelines, meta-analyses and case reports are invited for this Special Issue, especially those combining a high academic standard coupled with a practical focus on providing significant approaches and responses to an integrated palliative care system.

Dr. Guilhermina Rego
Prof. Dr. Rui Nunes
Dr. Francisca Rego
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • palliative care
  • healthcare system
  • secondary care
  • primary care
  • tertiary care
  • home care
  • wellbeing and quality of life
  • ethics and end-of-life care
  • communication
  • treatment in palliative care
  • psychosocial-spiritual care

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 346 KiB  
Article
Validation of the Arabic Version of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System
by Omar Shamieh, Ghadeer Alarjeh, Mohammad Al Qadire, Zaid Amin, Abdelrahman AlHawamdeh, Mohammad Al-Omari, Omar Mohtadi, Abdullah Illeyyan, Omar Ayaad, Sawsan Al-Ajarmeh, Amal Al-Tabba, Khawlah Ammar, Dalia Al-Rimawi, Mahmoud Abu-Nasser, Fadi Abu Farsakh and David Hui
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2571; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032571 - 31 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1166
Abstract
Quality cancer care is a team effort. In addition, patients’ symptoms change over the course of treatment. As such, the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is a simple tool designed to quickly monitor symptom change. Here, we present the results from a two-phase [...] Read more.
Quality cancer care is a team effort. In addition, patients’ symptoms change over the course of treatment. As such, the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is a simple tool designed to quickly monitor symptom change. Here, we present the results from a two-phase study aimed at validating the Arabic version of the ESAS (ESAS-A). Phase one involved the creation of two versions of the ESAS with both reverse and forward translations by bilingual, native Arabic speakers as well as evaluation by an expert panel. The reconciled version was then administered to 20 patients as a pilot from which to create the final version, which was then used with 244 patients. Phase two for the ESAS—involved an ESAS-based validation of 244 adults aged 18 years and older who were diagnosed with advanced cancer; then, further validation was completed in conjunction with two other symptom survey tools, the EORTC-Pal 15 and the HADS. The ESAS-A items possessed good internal consistency with an average Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84, ranging from 0.82 to 0.85. Moreover, the results of ESAS-A showed good agreement with those of EORTC QLQ- 15 PAL (r = 0.36 to 0.69) and HADS (r = 0.60 and 0.57) regarding anxiety and depression. We found the ESAS-A to be responsive to symptom change and a median time to completion of 3.73 min. The results of our study demonstrate that the ESAS-A is a reliable, valid, and feasible tool for the purposes of monitoring symptom change over the course of cancer treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palliative Care as an Integrated Response in the Healthcare System)
12 pages, 342 KiB  
Article
Admission to the Emergency Department by Patients Being Followed up for Palliative Care Consultations
by Mariana Azevedo Brites, Joana Gonçalves and Francisca Rego
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 15204; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215204 - 17 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1258
Abstract
Introduction: Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of patients and families facing life-threatening diseases. Admissions to the emergency department are considered potentially avoidable. This study aims to characterize the use of the emergency department by palliative care patients at a [...] Read more.
Introduction: Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of patients and families facing life-threatening diseases. Admissions to the emergency department are considered potentially avoidable. This study aims to characterize the use of the emergency department by palliative care patients at a public hospital in Portugal. Methods: This retrospective study included patients who had their first palliative care appointment during the year 2019; 135 patients were included, with 255 admissions to the emergency department. Descriptive statistical analysis consisted of calculating the absolute (n) and relative (%) frequencies for categorical variables and medians (Mdn) and percentiles (P25 and P75) for continuous variables. The multivariable associations were calculated via logistic models, with the statistical significance set to p < 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Dying in hospital was associated with going to the emergency department. Patients who died in hospital had more admissions and spent more time there. Conclusion: Emergency department admissions suggest that there are gaps in the provision of care. It is necessary to anticipate crisis situations, provide home and telephone appointments, and invest in professionals’ education to respond to the needs that will grow in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palliative Care as an Integrated Response in the Healthcare System)
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