This episode features Rachel Depner (Palliative Care Institute, The Center for Hospice & Palliative Care, New York, USA). She reports on her study which aimed to (a) describe a prison-based end-of-life program utilizing inmate peer caregivers, (b) identify inmate-caregiver motivations for participation, and (c) analyze the role of building trust and meaningful relationships within the correctional end-of-life care setting. A total of 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with inmate-caregivers. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research methodology. The study finds that, in total, five over-arching and distinct domains emerged; this manuscript focuses on the following three: (a) program description, (b) motivation, and (c) connections with others. The findings suggest that inmate-caregivers believe they provide a unique and necessary adaptation to prison-based end-of-life care resulting in multilevel benefits. These additional perceived benefits go beyond a marginalized group gaining access to patient-centered end-of-life care and include potential inmate-caregiver rehabilitation, correctional medical staff feeling supported, and correctional facilities meeting end-of-life care mandates. Additional research is imperative to work toward greater standardization of and access to end-of-life care for the incarcerated.
Full paper available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269216318755624?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed
If you would like to record a podcast about your published (or accepted) Palliative Medicine paper, please contact Dr Amara Nwosu: anwosu@liverpool.ac.uk
This episode features Professor Gunn Grande (University of Manchester, Manchester, UK). The aim of this qualitative study was to explore whether and how family carers are currently supported during patient discharge at end of life; to assess perceived benefits, acceptability and feasibility of using The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) Approach in the hospital setting to support carers. The study identified current barriers to supporting carers at hospital discharge, which were an organisational focus on patients’ needs, what practitioners perceived as carers’ often ‘unrealistic expectations’ of end-of-life caregiving at home and lack of awareness of patients’ end-of-life situation. The CSNAT Approach was viewed as enabling carer support and addressing difficulties of discussing the realities of supporting someone at home towards end of life. Implementation in hospital required organisational considerations of practitioner workload and training. To enhance carer support, a two-stage process of assessment and support (hospital with community follow-up) was suggested using the CSNAT as a carer-held record to manage the transition.
This study identifies a novel intervention, which expands the focus of discharge planning to include assessment of carers’ support needs at transition, potentially preventing breakdown of care at home and patient readmissions to hospital.
Full paper available from: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269216318756259?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed
If you would like to record a podcast about your published (or accepted) Palliative Medicine paper, please contact Dr Amara Nwosu: anwosu@liverpool.ac.uk