Category Archives: research

Drugs for #delirium don’t work, and may in fact harm

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Meera Agar, University of Technology Sydney

Delirium robs dying people of their autonomy, dignity and last conversations with loved ones, at a time when every moment is precious.

Symptoms are highly distressing to experience and watch. Confusion, incoherent communication, poor attention, agitation, drowsiness and hallucinations are some markers of this common complication for people dying in hospital from cancer and other advanced illnesses. On average one in three people in end-of-life hospital care are affected.

Doctors commonly prescribe antipsychotic medications to try to relieve these symptoms. However, our study just published in JAMA Internal Medicine, raises serious concerns about their safety and efficacy.

So, what are we to do for people experiencing delirium, who are robbed of their mental awareness and ability to communicate?

Continue reading →

“Failure to maintain”: do hospitals cause suffering in older people?

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Today Palliverse talks to Assistant Professor Kasia Bail (@Kasia_Bail) from the University of Canberra. Kasia is a nurse, a researcher, a kung fu instructor and a drummer in a metal band. She came to our attention via social media when we noticed her crowdfunding campaign for the next stage of her research into nursing care of complex, hospitalised older people. Here at Palliverse we are fans of crowdfunding, although we’re yet to use it for research purposes!

Kasia’s research aims to improve sustainable acute care health delivery for an ageing population, while her clinical experience includes general medical and acute palliative care. In her PhD, Kasia developed an approach to measure nurse-sensitive outcomes, which is currently being used to evaluate a Government-funded implementation of a cognitive identifier. Kasia has a passion for identifying and researching the structures and processes which impede or enable quality patient care, and sharing her learning and inquiry with nursing students, industry and professional groups. Here, Palliverse asks her about her latest research project and dipping her toe into the world of social media.

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Dr Kasia Bail (image via Dr Bail)

Your research has led to a new concept in the care of older people with complex medical problems, “Failure to Maintain”. What does this mean? Continue reading →

Calling palliative care health professionals for online research experiment – now open worldwide!

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If you could only admit one patient to your service today but you have many referrals, which patient would you choose?

FloorBoss XL™ Free-Standing Sign - High-Impact Plastic 25in.H x 12in.W

Palliative Care is in urgent need of a robust and evidence-based system for triaging referrals in an equitable, efficient and transparent manner. If you are a health professional working primarily in palliative care anywhere in the world with at least two years of experience, we want to know your views!

Please take part in this world-first online experiment at  www.tinyurl.com/palliativetriage or for more information contact Dr Beth Russell by email beth.russell@svha.org.au or twitter @DrBethRussell

#4APCRC: 4th Australian Palliative Care Research Colloquium

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audience

Members of team Palliverse had the pleasure of attending the 4th Australian Palliative Care Research Colloquium between October 27-28th, which was once again held in the comfortable surroundings of the Rendezvous Hotel in Melbourne, Victoria.  Continue reading →

#ANZSPM16 tweet chat: the (hidden) cost of caring

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anzspm16-cost-of-caring

A game changer at the recent Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative medicine 2016 Conference (#ANZSPM16) was Dr Merryn Gott’s plenary presentation on the hidden costs of caring. Little is known about the financial impact of caring for people at the end of life.

She detailed some powerful anecdotes, including the story of two sisters whose mother lay dying in a hospital. The cost of parking was prohibitive and the daughters took it in turns to sit in the car watching out for the parking inspector. When their mother died, only one of the daughters was there; the other was in the car. Continue reading →

#ANZSPM16 Wrap up

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Days two and three of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM) 2016 Conference: The Changing Landscape of Palliative Care was just as brilliant as the first. The plenary sessions featured:

  • Merryn Gott (@MerrynGott) spoke about the ‘last taboo’ in our community: the invisible and sometimes unexpected costs of providing care at the end of life, which are often not explored in clinical and almost never measured in policymaking and research. She also discussed  the impact of culture, ethnicity and gender on who is bearing these financial and non-financial costs. To find our more, read her open access @PalliativeMedJ article here.
  • Meera Agar (@meera_agar) discussed the growing evidence base around delirium care in the palliative care setting. Management of this complex, distressing, life-threatening, but often reversible syndrome is challenging. Non-pharmacological strategies and a system-wide approach to organizing and delivering care are crucial, as research into various drug treatments continue to demonstrate a lack of clear benefit and the potential for harm. Meera recommends iDelirium for more information about this important area of palliative care.
  • Pippa Hawley reflected on the lack of evidence around the use of medicinal cannabis – despite the immense interest from (and considerable experience of) our communities. How should clinicians respond while the scientific and legal issues are sorted out? Ask questions, keep an open mind & work with our patients!
  • Douglas McGregor explored the interface between heart failure and palliative care. He referenced Sarah Goodlin’s open access article, Merryn Gott’s study while discussing prognostic uncertainty and clinician paralysis; and observed that most guidelines still see palliative care as relevant only at the very end of life, rather than a key component of chronic disease management. Amy Gadaud’s (@agadoud) review was flagged as a good place to start when considering issues around early integration.
  • Sam Bloore stimulated and inspired delegates with his fascinating talk about dying well in a culture of bitcoin and botox. How can palliative care adapt, survive and thrive in this changing cultural landscape characterized by information overload, mindless distraction and incoherence? We must remain a “subversive” counterculture and continue to strive towards caring deeply and meaningfully!

In addition to these amazing plenaries, fully (and at times even over-)subscribed workshops on the overlap between palliative care and addiction medicine / chronic pain, aged care, literature and the arts were held, alongside numerous excellent oral and poster presentations from specialists and trainees. The enthusiastic and well-informed audience present during all of the sessions was another highlight for me (and I’m sure all of the other speakers and delegates)!

It’s been a wonderful few days in Perth. A big thank you to the Conference organizing committee, chaired by Derek Eng (@dr_engd), for inviting team @Palliverse to be part of this great event. Thanks also to all of you for engaging with #ANZSPM16 on social media. Keep an eye out for our upcoming tweet chats, during which we will continue the conversation about the changing landscape of palliative care!

 

Highlights from #ANZSPM16 pre-conference workshops

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The Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM) 2016 Conference opens today. A number of excellent pre-conference workshops were held yesterday, including:

  • A comprehensive trainee day, including a great workshop from Katrina Anderson on self-care and reflection about love, strength, vulnerability and respect; the use of methadone (Pippa Hawley); the challenges of providing palliative care in residential aged care facilities (Douglas McGregor), patients and families with vulnerable personalities (David Kissane), and the neuroanatomy of distress (Lisa Miller)
  • A great presentation on the role of media in palliative care, followed by a hands-on workshop in the afternoon, under the encouraging guidance of Marie Mills; and
  • Supervisor workshop, lead by Michelle Gold and Brian Le

Team Palliverse will be broadcasting from the #ANZSPM16 Conference for the next three days. If you are at the conference, please come and say g’day – and recharge your devices – at the social media hub!

From Foundation to Future: Palliative Care Nurses Australia (PCNA) 6th Biennial Conference, 11-12 September 2016: Hotel Realm, Canberra.

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PCNA Conf16

Calling all nurses… Next month PCNA will celebrate more than a decade of progress towards its vision of excellence in palliative care nursing.

DID YOU play a part in establishing the foundation for this progress?

DO YOU want to contribute to future progress towards this vision?

ARE YOU just curious to check out the latest advances in palliative care nursing?

Whether you’re in Canberra, Cooma, Clayfield, Carlton, or Christchurch—this conference is your opportunity to meet and mingle with experts in your field, as well as catch up with old colleagues or make new friends and professional connections.

In this post we give an overview of the conference program and keynote speakers presenting at what promises to be an outstanding conference, not to be missed!

#PCNAust16 by @PCNAust

Continue reading →

#ANZSPM16 – understanding demoralisation in palliative care

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Demoralisation has been described as a form of psychological distress that is associated with hopelessness, helplessness, and a loss of meaning and purpose. It has been explored across a number of settings, but is thought to be particularly important in palliative care settings, where it may affect up to 20% of patients who face end-stage disease.

Such a pattern of distress goes to the core of our identity, and presents challenges to well-being and the often-cited idea of ‘living well until we die’. It also has important implications for decision-making and consent in relation to medical treatments.

Practitioners in palliative care understand the far-reaching impact of demoralisation, and Professor David Kissane, along with colleagues at Monash University have been advancing our understanding of this concept Continue reading →

Victorian Cancer Agency funding opportunities

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The 2016 Victorian Cancer Agency funding round is currently open, with a number of schemes available that may be of interest to palliative care researchers:

  • Translational research projects
  • Clinical research fellowships
  • Mid-career research fellowships
  • Early career seed grants
  • Supportive care scholarships (at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre)

Most of the applications close in August.