0000000000014614
AUTHOR
Maria Grazia De Marinis
Transitions between care settings after enrollment in a palliative care service in Italy: a retrospective analysis.
This study was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data that aimed to map patients’ care transitions following admission to a specialist palliative care service in Italy called Antea Centre. Patients’ data was extracted from the Antea local database from 2007 to 2011. External transitions were defined as a change in the setting of care, with the patient no longer being cared for by Antea staff. Internal transitions were defined as a change in the setting of care, with the care still being provided by Antea staff. A total of 1123 patients out of 5313 admitted to the palliative service (21%) experienced transitions. Patients who experienced no transitions after their admissio…
Attitude and knowledge of pain management among Italian nurses in hospital settings
Pain is multidimensional, and, as such, the chief reason patients seek urgent healthcare services. If inadequately assessed and untreated, pain may negatively impact on the quality of life of the patient. Treating pain is an important step in regaining control over quality of life. The objective of the present study is to examine the level of knowledge and types of approach among Italian nurses who deal with pain assessment and management. The Ferrell and McCaffery's Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) was distributed to 286 nurses employed in one of the biggest specialized hospitals in Rome, Italy. The interviewed staff work at three different settings, according to the h…
Chronic non-cancer pain in primary care: an Italian cross-sectional study
Chronic non-cancer pain is a complex health condition that affects more than a quarter of the Italian population who mainly refers to general practitioners and primary care for their treatment. There are little information on the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and types of treatments for these patients who suffer from chronic pain. The aim of the study was to provide epidemiological and clinical information about patients with chronic non-cancer pain who refers to GPs for their treatment. An observational, multicentre, cross-sectional study was carried out using retrospectively reviewed clinical records from 29 GPs. Some pharmacoeconomic aspects were also investigated. A total…
Inequity in palliative care service full utilisation among patients with advanced cancer: a retrospective Cohort study.
Background: Advanced cancer patients often die in hospital after receiving needless, aggressive treatment. Although palliative care improves symptom management, barriers to accessing palliative care services affect its utilisation, and such disparities challenge the equitable provision of palliative care. This study aimed to identify which factors are associated with inequitable palliative care service utilisation among advanced cancer patients by applying the Andersen Behavioural Model of Health Services Use.Material and methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using administrative healthcare data. A total of 13,656 patients residing in the Lazio region of Italy, who died of an advan…
Palliative care quality indicators in Italy. What do we evaluate?
Purpose In recent years, the number of palliative service providers has increased significantly. This expansion necessitates an evaluation in order to provide the basis for quality improvement of the care. Policymakers, managers of palliative care programs, and others committed to the improvement of end-of-life care need methods and criteria to measure and evaluate the care delivered. As quality measurement is expensive and difficult to undertake, it is fundamental that quality measures evaluate the right things. Quality evaluation in Italy is supported by health authorities who have developed some indicators of palliative care. The aims of this study were to give an overview of these indic…
Quality of life and disability of chronic non-cancer pain in adults patients attending pain clinics: A prospective, multicenter, observational study
What do we already know about this subject? • Chronic pain can have negative effects on quality of life. It is associated with a reduced ability to work, quality of life and disability, conditions that should be treated in specialized pain management clinics. In Italy very little information on clinical outcomes after chronic pain treatments is provided. What does our study add to the already existing information • This study is the first to provide clinical data about the impact of chronic pain in terms of quality of life and disability on patients who attended pain management clinics in Italy. • Chronic pain has a negative impact on quality of life and disability and causes presenteeism. …
Pain Education in Schools of Nursing: a Survey of the Italian Academic Situation.
Introduction: Proper assessment of pain is imperative for the development of an effective pain management plan and is a core responsibility of nurses and healthcare professionals. This article describes the contents of Italian on-line bachelor's in nursing degree programs, with particular focus on pain management.Method: A descriptive study was made on curricula published and available on-line in Italian Nursing Schools, and the concordance with the standards set by the Consensus Curriculum on Pain for Nursing ofthe International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP, 2015) was analyzed.Results: Of all the bachelor programs published on-line, 42.6% offered programs and courses specificall…
Translation and Testing of the Italian Version of FAMCARE-2: Measuring Family Caregivers' Satisfaction With Palliative Care.
Family satisfaction is an important outcome of palliative care and is a critical measure for health care professionals to address when assessing quality of care. The FAMCARE-2 is a widely used measure of family satisfaction with the health care received by both patient and family in palliative care. In this study, a team of Italian researchers culturally adapted the FAMCARE-2 to the Italian language and psychometrically tested the instrument by measuring satisfaction of 185 family caregivers of patients admitted into two palliative care services. FAMCARE-2 showed excellent levels of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α coefficient = .96) and test–retest reliability ( r = .98, p < .01). Th…
Chronic Non-cancer Pain Management in a Tertiary Pain Clinic Network: a Retrospective Study
Introduction: Chronic pain is a distressing condition that should be treated in specialized pain clinics. Pain clinics offer a holistic, evidence-based approach, including pharmacological, complementary, and invasive treatments. This study aimed to provide preliminary information regarding chronic pain treatments and identify reasons for accessing an important hub-spoke pain clinic network. Methods: A retrospective multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 1606 patients’ records were included. Patients were selected from the 26 pain clinics of a single region in Italy. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used. Results: Multivariate models showed t…
Validity and reliability of the Palliative Care Transition Measure for Caregivers (PCTM-C).
AbstractObjectivePatients suffering from advanced disease face different care transitions. The transition from acute to palliative care is challenging and may lead to the discontinuity of care. Family caregivers become important sources of information, as patients begin to experience difficulties in coping with emotional transition events. The Care Transition Measure was developed to evaluate care transitions as experienced by the elderly. It has never been used in palliative care. The aim of this study was to test the validity and reliability of a modified version of the Palliative Care Transition Measure, specifically the Palliative Care Transition Measure for Caregivers (PCTM-C).MethodTh…
Palliative Care Education in Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum in Italy
Worldwide, more than 19 million people require palliative care because of an advanced stage of disease. Undergraduate nursing education should include palliative care as the European consensus suggests. In 2004, the European Society of Palliative Care issued a guide for the development of palliative nurse education in Europe. This study aims to describe the extension and characteristics of palliative care education within all of the nursing degree curricula in Italy, as well as to what extent their topics match the European Society of Palliative Care guide. A descriptive study was conducted through the universities web pages. For each degree, the curricula of the academic years from 2010 to…