Palliative Care

Research conducted by: RAND Health; RAND Labor and Population

All Items (84)

Past Event

Palliative Care: Improving Quality of Life for the Seriously Ill — Feb 26, 2013

Health care professionals are always looking for more effective ways to relieve and prevent suffering among their patients and to enhance the quality of care. Join us for a discussion on what we know—and what we need to know—about the delivery of palliative care services.

Multimedia

Palliative Care: Improving Quality of Life for the Seriously Ill — Feb 26, 2013

Woman helping man off bed, walker in front of him

Karl Lorenz, a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, discusses how to improve palliative care training for health practitioners and better engage patients in the health care decisionmaking process.

Journal Article

Development of a Prognostic Model for Six-Month Mortality in Older Adults with Declining Health — Mar 1, 2012

This study seeks to develop a new prognostic model, the Patient-Reported Outcome Mortality Prediction Tool (PROMPT), for six-month mortality in community-dwelling elderly patients.

Journal Article

Missed Opportunities: Use of an End-of-Life Symptom Management Order Protocol Among Inpatients Dying Expected Deaths — Apr 1, 2011

Evaluation of implementation of a standardized order set can identify areas for quality improvement and missed opportunities for use.

Journal Article

Evaluating a Palliative Care Intervention for Veterans: Challenges and Lessons Learned in a Longitudinal Study of Patients with Serious Illness — Mar 14, 2011

Longitudinal studies examining care for seriously ill patients are needed to understand patients' experience of illness, evaluate interventions, and improve quality of care. Unfortunately, such studies face substantial methodological challenges. This article describes such challenges and the strategies used to overcome them in a successfully implemented palliative care intervention trial for veterans.

News Release

End-of-Life Care in Teaching Hospital Is Generally Good, but More Family Communication Is Needed — Jun 28, 2010

Patients admitted to a teaching hospital for an end-of-life illness generally receive high-quality medical care, but there is a need for better communication about family expectations and for timely efforts to keep patients comfortable.

Journal Article

End-of-Life Care in Teaching Hospital Is Generally Good, but More Family Communication Is Needed — Jun 28, 2010

Patients admitted to a teaching hospital for an end-of-life illness generally receive high-quality medical care, but there is a need for better communication about family expectations and for timely efforts to keep patients comfortable.

Journal Article

Provider Communication and Patient Understanding of Life-Limiting Illness and Their Relationship to Patient Communication of Treatment Preferences — Jan 1, 2010

Medical decision making in the context of serious illness ideally involves a patient who understands his or her condition and prognosis and can effectively formulate and communicate his or her care preferences.

Journal Article

Quality of End-of-Life Care in Low-Income, Uninsured Men Dying of Prostate Cancer — Jan 1, 2010

The quality of end-of-life care was assessed in disadvantaged men prospectively enrolled in a public assistance program. That end-of-life care would be aggressive, moreso than recommended by quality-of-care guidelines, was hypothesized.

Journal Article

Hospice Use and High-Intensity Care in Men Dying of Prostate Cancer — Jan 1, 2010

This study assessed hospice use by men dying of prostate cancer and compared the use of high-intensity care between those who did or did not enroll in hospice. Those who enroll in hospice are less likely to receive high-intensity end-of-life care.

Journal Article

Hospice and Emergency Room Use By Disadvantaged Men Dying of Prostate Cancer — Jan 1, 2009

Hospice care has been found to improve symptom management, quality of death and quality of life at the end of life.

Journal Article

The Medicare Hospice Payment System: A Consideration of Potential Refinements — Jan 1, 2009

The purpose of this article is to examine variation in resource utilization across and within patient stays in the context of Medicare's per diem payment system for hospice.

Journal Article

Demographic and Social Characteristics and Spending at the End of Life — Jan 1, 2009

In the United States and abroad, the aging of the population and changes in its demographic and social composition raise important considerations for the future of health care and the systems that pay for care.

Journal Article

Heart Failure: The Hidden Problem of Pain — Jan 1, 2009

Although dyspnea and fatigue are hallmark symptoms of heart failure (HF), the burden of pain may be underrecognized. This study assessed pain in HF and identified contributing factors.

Journal Article

A Framework for Assessing Quality Indicators for Cancer Care at the End of Life — Jan 1, 2009

Patients with advanced cancer often do not receive high-quality pain and symptom management or support with coordination of care, communication, and decisionmaking. Posits a conceptual framework for quality indicator development and implementation.

Report

The potential cost savings of greater use of home- and hospice- based end of life care in England — Nov 29, 2008

Expansion of home/community end of life services can reduce acute care costs and benefit patients by accommodating expressed preferences on place of death.

Journal Article

Paying the Price at the End of Life: A Consideration of Factors That Affect the Profitability of Hospice — Sep 1, 2008

Evaluates factors that affect the financial performance of hospice.

Project

Health Indicators Address Quality of Care in Older Adults — Feb 15, 2008

Vulnerable elders receive on average only half of recommended care; for conditions that affect primarily the elderly, they receive appropriate care less than one-third of the time. Interventions based on ACOVE indicators can improve the care physicians provide to older adults.

Journal Article

A Systematic Review of Satisfaction with Care at the End of Life — Jan 1, 2008

More focus on these satisfaction elements might improve the effectiveness of end-of-life interventions and their evaluation.

Journal Article

Evidence for Improving Palliative Care at the End of Life: A Systematic Review — Jan 1, 2008

Assesses evidence about interventions to improve palliative and end-of-life care.

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