Care of the dying cancer patient in the emergency department: findings from a National survey of Australian emergency department clinicians.
Intern Med J
; 44(4): 362-8, 2014 Apr.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24528993
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Patients with cancer are presenting to emergency departments (ED) for end-of-life care with increasing frequency. Little is known about this experience for patients and ED clinicians in Australia.AIMS:
To assess the barriers and enablers regarding end-of-life care for cancer patients as perceived by Australian ED clinicians.METHODS:
There were 4501 Australian ED clinicians invited through their professional colleges to complete an online survey, using multiple-choice and free-text responses.RESULTS:
A total of 681 ED clinicians responded, most (84.2%) felt comfortable providing care to the dying and found it to be rewarding (70.9%). Although 83.8% found caring for the dying a reasonable demand on their role as clinician, 83.8% also agreed that the ED is not the right place to die. Respondents demonstrated a wide range of views regarding caring for this patient group in ED through free-text responses. In addition, 64.5% reported that futile treatment is frequently provided in the ED; the main reasons reported were that limitations of care were not clearly documented, or discussed with the patient or their family. Almost all (94.6%) agreed that advance care plans assist in caring for dying patients in the ED.CONCLUSIONS:
Our findings provide important new insights into a growing area of care for ED. Barriers and enablers to optimal care of the dying patient in ED were identified, and especially the reported high occurrence of futile care, likely a result of these barriers, is detrimental to both optimal patient care and allocation of valuable healthcare resources.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Asunto principal:
Cuidado Terminal
/
Actitud del Personal de Salud
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Actitud Frente a la Muerte
/
Encuestas y Cuestionarios
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Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital
/
Cuerpo Médico de Hospitales
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Intern Med J
Asunto de la revista:
MEDICINA INTERNA
Año:
2014
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Australia