Medical Xpress July 16, 2024
Palliative care, specialized medical care focusing on providing relief from the symptoms—including pain—and the stress of serious illness, is underutilized in nursing homes, despite the large number of nursing home residents living with a serious illness such as cancer, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
A qualitative study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, analyzes lack of palliative care referrals for nursing home residents and proposes ways to address this health care gap. In addition to examining existing referral patterns, the authors explore recommendations for ideal criteria and create a substantive framework for palliative care referrals in nursing homes.
Palliative care is not the same as, nor is it limited to, hospice care....
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