End Of Life Care Research Paper

Q1: Complete the following table, describing the needs you would have to consider when planning the different aspects of end of life care for an individual

Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness and is intimately linked with end-of-life care for people in the last months or days of life (National Council for Palliative Care, 2017). Around 500,000 people die each year in England and Wales (NICE, 2017) and up to 74% of people say they would prefer to die at home (National Audit Office, 2008), but currently 58% of people die in hospital (National End of Life Intelligence Network, 2010). Common issues in palliative/end-of-life patients such as pain, breathlessness, or seizures (Royal College of Nursing, 2011) are likely to initiate an emergency response from ambulance services. For carers and relatives the lack of community services or 24-hour clinical support often mean they turn to the ambulance service (Parkinson, 2014) This essay will explore the issues surrounding palliative/end-of-life care and the role modern ambulance services can play in facilitating effective care delivery.

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

In reviewing the two studies I found, it is very clear there is a difference in quantitative and qualitative studies. To start, Lee et al. (2017) conducted a qualitative study in which the problem statement recognizes that end of life care (EOLC) in dementia patients is less than optimal when compared to cancer patients. The researchers aimed to determine what service managers and frontline staff at different facilities felt were the key aspects in improving EOLC in dementia patients (Lee et al., 2017). As a result, the researchers purpose was to contribute to the current evidence base on good EOLC and interventions to increase quality of care of end of life dementia patients.

Within the more advanced stages the individual will commonly suffer from incontinence, limited mobility and limited communication usually the individual will not be able to use sentences just limited words. Other symptoms that worsen similar to those with a terminal illness are:

My perceptions have changed dramatically since the Clinical 1 rotation. I have noticed that the minute I walk into my patient’s room, I start to collect data. I notice if they are breathing normal, what their skin looks like, what their cognition level is, and what equipment they have in their room. I have started to connect the “puzzle pieces” of the patient’s health, rather than just feeling like I have a bunch of random information. My perception of people has continued to stay the same from Clinical 1. I continue to have an interest in learning about patients and believe that they also have something to teach us. I have learned so much from the patients and it is fun for me to get to know different

they can offer a wealth of information and can help to make them feel useful.

End of Life Care Planning is a controversial topic that is huge dilemma in healthcare. The average Medicare expenditures per person over the last two years of life was $102, 939.00 (Harter, 2015). One quarter of traditional Medicare spending for health care is for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries in their last year of life (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2016). Nurses deal with ethical dilemmas when caring for patients at the end of life. Nurses are responsible in minimizing unwanted treatment and patient suffering, which can sometimes be interfered by what family members want and the patient wishes (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2012). This paper will go over why end of life care planning should and should be covered as a covered expense.

Quality of Life and Functioning for End of Life Care. HAT2 Community Health Nursing. Western Governors University.

Holli, I also learned a lot about Medicare from watching the accompanying media two videos. I found the end of life care issues on the video interesting also. I could see the doctor's point of the extreme measures of treatment some patients were being given in end-of-life care, but I had to disagree with him on making it into a blanket coverage of stopping care after certain ages or medical conditions. I think that it needs to continue to be decided on a patient by patient basis because each individual's health condition is unique. I agree with you that if treatment is shown to be no longer of benefit to the patient, then it should no longer be covered by

When a person is healthy, he or she should be able to manage any social, physical, or mental challenges that come his or her way. A healthy person therefore is seen as one who should be able to perform their daily assignments, having access to their social services like vocation efficiently without any form of complication (Gentry et al. 2010 p.103). In case where a person’s ability to carry out the functions mentioned above expected of a healthy person, the person could be deemed unhealthy and might require the services of a caregiver for him or her to be able to accomplish some of his or her daily activities.

The use of advance directives varies amongst various ethnicities, with approximately 9% of South Asian Hindu elders residing in the United States have completed one – compared to the national average for completion rate of 15-20% within the United States (Deshpande et al., 2005). Based on the limited literature available regarding end of life care practices amongst this community, the reasons for why South Asian end of life practices are molded in a particular way revolves around religious values, strong filial obligations, and disregard for individual autonomy (Deshpande et al., 2005). Many researchers believe the choices surrounding the decision making process at the end of life may be tied to culture and ethnicity, as opposed

The trend I have seen throughout my healthcare experience in regards to end-of-life care is that patients with chronic debilitating

Choice, Control, Care and Support towards the End of Life Patient case study: An 82-year-old JM admitted with chest infection and shortness of breath. Due to shortness of breath he was having reduced mobility and unable to undertake activity of daily task. Patient had a past medical history of Cancer of prostate end stage. Patients condition deteriorated very quickly and patient preferred choice was home as informed decision was done in advance. He lives in a three-bed house, usually independent with activity of daily living.

With regards to people who lack capacity and Advance care planning this has the potential to improve end of life care by enabling patients to discuss and record their future health and care wishes and also to appoint someone as an advocate or surrogate, thus making the likelihood of these wishes being known and respected at the end of life. This subject is important for those with the ability to make decisions now, to plan ahead and to live life as fully as possible until they die. It is also important to anticipate a time when they may not be able to make such decisions in future, and to plan for this eventuality. This aspect is stressed as a priority by some than by others, and it refers to the various legislations related to mental capacity