Palliative care and end stage liver disease: A cohort analysis of palliative care use and factors associated with referral.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Prevalence and mortality of chronic liver disease have risen significantly. In end stage liver disease, the survival of patients is approximately two years. Despite the poor prognosis and high symptom burden of these patients, integration of palliative care is limited. We aim to assess associated factors and trends in palliative care use in recent years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Multicenter retrospective cohort of patients with end stage liver disease who suffered in-hospital mortality between 2017 and 2019. Information regarding patient demographics, hospital characteristics, comorbidities, etiology, decompensations, and interventions was collected. Two-sided tests and logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with palliative care use. RESULTS: A total of 201 patients were analyzed, with a yearly increase in palliative care consultation: 26.7 % in 2017 to 38.3 % in 2019. Patients in palliative care were older (65.72 ± 11.70 vs. 62.10 ± 11.44; p = 0.003), had a lower Karnofsky functionality scale (χ=18.104; p = 0.000) and had higher rates of hepatic encephalopathy (32.1 % vs. 17.4 %, p = 0.007) and hepatocarcinoma (61.7 % vs. 26.2 %; p = 0.000). No differences were found for Model for End-stage Liver Disease (19.28 ± 6.60 vs. 19,90 ± 5.78; p = 0.507) or Child-Pugh scores (p = 0.739). None of the patients who die in the intensive care unit receive palliative care (0 % vs 31.6 %; p = 0.000). Half of the palliative care consultations occurred 6,5 days before death. CONCLUSIONS: Palliative care use differs based on demographics, disease complications, and severity. Despite its increasing implementation, palliative care intervention occurs late. Future investigations should identify approaches to achieve an earlier and concurrent care model.

Integrating palliative care in patients with advanced multiple sclerosis: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) often presents a long and uncertain evolution. Treatment decisions in advanced MS are supported by robust evidence, but recent guidelines have suggested a shift to a palliative approach as the disease progresses. This study aims to describe what is known about the integration of palliative care (PC) in patients with severe MS (cost-effectiveness, moment of reference, and perspective of stakeholders). METHODS: A scoping review was developed, and the Scopus, Medline (PubMed), ISI Web of Knowledge, and SAGE databases were consulted, using the key terms: "multiple sclerosis" AND "palliative care". Studies on the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and health professionals regarding the integration of PC in MS were included. No restrictions were applied regarding the subtype of MS, gender, ethnicity, frequency of use of health services, and language. RESULTS: Of 158 articles identified, 19 were included in the review. Key factors were identified, such as the effectiveness of PC intervention in severe MS, the financial impact of providing PC compared to conventional care, the reduction of symptoms and caregiver burden, and the perception of unmet needs by users, health professionals, and caregivers during the PC approach. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MS should have access to specialized PC when they reach the severe phase of the disease. Providing a multidisciplinary team to provide targeted consultations based on the patient's needs may be most appropriate. These issues have important implications for the future planning and provision of PC services.

Ethical Issues in Clinical Decision-Making about Involuntary Psychiatric Treatment: A Scoping Review.

In mental health and psychiatric care, the use of involuntary psychiatric treatment for people with mental disorders is still a central and contentious issue. The main objective of this scoping review was to map and systematize the literature on ethical issues in clinical decision-making about involuntary psychiatric treatment. Five databases (Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Medline, and Scopus) were searched for articles on this topic. Out of a total of 342 articles found, 35 studies from 14 countries were included based on the selection criteria. The articles were analyzed using the inductive content analysis approach. The following main categories were identified: (1) ethical foundations that guide clinical decision-making; (2) criteria for involuntary psychiatric treatment; (3) gaps, barriers, and risks associated with involuntary psychiatric treatment; (4) strategies used to reduce, replace, and improve the negative impact of involuntary treatment; and (5) evidence-based recommendations. Most of the selected articles discuss the logic underlying involuntary treatment of the mentally ill, exploring ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, or justice, as well as how these should be properly balanced. During the process of involuntary psychiatric admission, there was a notable absence of effective communication and a significant power imbalance that disenfranchised those seeking services. This disparity was further intensified by professionals who often use coercive measures without a clear decision-making rationale and by family members who strongly depend on hospital admission. Due to the pluralistic and polarized nature of opinions regarding legal capacity and the complexity and nuance of involuntary admission, further studies should be context-specific and based on co-production and participatory research.

Access to infertility care in Brazil: validation of a questionnaire for a bioethical discussion.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization characterizes infertility as a disease since 2009; however, in many countries, reproductive health is not prioritized. Characterizing a target population and knowing the barriers to accessing reproductive care may allow for a broadening of the discussion on how to provide equal opportunities. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire that seeks to identify socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of Brazilian infertile couples to open the discussion on the principle of fair access to health. METHODS: (1) literature review in the main databases, (2) questionnaire elaboration by researchers within the areas of human reproduction and bioethics, concerned with content adequacy and comprehension, using the Google Forms online platform, (3) pilot study - the questionnaire was applied to 54 couples, over 18 years of age, that were seeking treatment for infertility and accepted to participate in the study and (4) statistical analysis - for continuous numerical variables, mean, standard deviation and 95% CI of the means were presented. For discrete numerical variables, median, interquartile range, minimum and maximum were presented. RESULTS: Forty-four questionnaires were fully completed and with adequate answers. The questionnaire proved to be objective and easy to understand. It was possible to obtain information on education, race of the couple, the impact of infertility on the couple's life, socioeconomic conditions, and the main difficulties in accessing medical care for treatment of infertility. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire proved to be feasible in collecting appropriate information to characterize a target population and the only limitation was that there was no academic expert evaluation prior to the pilot test.

Communication strategies used by medical physicians when delivering bad news at the Maputo Central Hospital, Mozambique: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Physicians' communication with patients and their families is important during both the disease diagnosis and prognosis stages and through the follow-up process. Effective physician communication improves patients' quality of life and satisfaction with care and helps reduce suffering for those newly diagnosed with advanced progressive illnesses. This study aims to identify the communication strategies physicians use in the transition to palliative care and how these professionals perceive their academic and clinical preparation concerning this task. METHODS: A cross-sectional and quantitative study. Physicians providing palliative care at the Maputo Central Hospital, Mozambique, were invited to complete a 17-question questionnaire. This questionnaire was based on a Brazilian adaptation of the Setting-Perception-Invitation-Knowledge-Emotions-Strategy (SPIKES) tool, the P-A-C-I-E-N-T-E protocol, with additional questions regarding socio-demographic details and the integration of "communication of bad news" into hospital training. RESULTS: Of the 121 participants, 62 (51.2%) were male, and 110 (90.9%) were general practitioners, with a median age of 36 years old. They had worked in clinical practice for a median of 8 years and in their current department for three years. The majority of the participants considered that they have an acceptable or good level of bad news communication skills and believed that they do it in a clear and empathic way, paying attention to the patient's requests and doubts; however, most were not aware of the existing tools to assist them in this task and suggested that delivering bad news ought to be integrated into the undergraduate medical course and included in hospital training. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to our understanding of physicians' strategies when communicating bad news in the context of palliative care at one Mozambique hospital. As palliative care is not fully implemented in Mozambique, it is important to use protocols suitable to the country's healthcare level to improve how doctors deal with patients and their family members.

Palliative Care in Portugal-From Intention to Reality, What Is Yet to Be Accomplished.

OBJECTIVES: This article focuses on exploring the evolution of palliative care in Portugal. Ten years after the approval of its Basic Law, the aim was to investigate the quality of the path followed and the guidelines that could promote its development. Thus, this study sought to identify (a) the goals of the current members of parliament concerning palliative care, (b) the major priorities that should guide the development of palliative care in the coming decade, (c) the facilitating or hindering factors to accelerating the process, and (d) to propose consensually agreed measures for the integral development of palliative care within the health system. METHODS: The qualitative data analysis was performed through the reading of the literature and interviews conducted via Zoom with several intentionally chosen participants. The data extracted from the previous studies were analyzed in a focus group. The NVivo® 10 was used for the data processing and categorization. RESULTS: Three key themes emerged concerning the current status of palliative care: the policymakers, the health professionals, and the society. This first line of structuring is explained by a second set of categories, namely, (a) the knowledge about palliative care; and (b) palliative care organization from the policymakers' perspective. In the health professionals' domain: (a) knowledge about palliative care, (b) clinical training, and (c) medical specialty. Finally, in society: (a) knowledge about palliative care. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESULTS: Advancing general education, increasing the qualitative training for different health professionals, reformulating the laws supporting them, promoting the flexibility of the implementation methodologies, and establishing a medical specialty are crucial to achieving the proposed goal. This study was not registered.

Perceptions, Attitudes, and Knowledge toward Advance Directives: A Scoping Review.

(1) Background: Advance directives are an expression of a person's autonomy regarding end-of-life care. Several studies have shown that the level of completion in countries where advance directives are legalised is low. To better understand this phenomenon, it is important to know the perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge that the population has about this instrument. The aim of this article was to explore a population's perceptions and/or attitudes and/or knowledge toward advance directives. (2) Methods: A search was conducted in March 2023 in the ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and PubMed databases using the following keywords: "advance care directives", "advance care planning", "perceptions", "attitudes", and "knowledge". Two hundred and twenty-four (224) articles were identified, and thirteen (13) were included for analysis. (3) Results: The selected articles point to a low level of knowledge toward advance directives: they recognise a strong positive attitude of the population toward the implementation of advance directives but a low level of achievement. (4) Conclusions: Studies on perceptions/attitudes/knowledge toward advance directives are important to understand the real needs of the population regarding this issue and to implement more adequate and effective promotion and dissemination measures.

Analysis of academic knowledge about the code of ethics for medicine students developed by the Federal Medicine Council of Brazil

In August 2018, the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), the body responsible for the supervision and standardization of medical professional practice in Brazil, published a national code of ethics for medical students (CEMS), which standardizes and suggests behaviors, based on the best moral and ethical values, for medical students, supporting the humanization of medicine and indirectly helping teachers and managers of medical courses. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the dissemination and awareness of scientific publications on the Brazilian CEMS code, and consisted of an integrative literature review of all publications related to the Brazilian CEMS published from 2005 to the present. We found 4 studies related to regional and university codes of ethics for medical students published from 2005 to 2022, and regarding the CEMS elaborated by the FCM, we found a single study from its launch in 2018 to 2022. A CEMS has universal importance, facilitating the ethical and human development of future physicians, and despite its importance in the training of physicians, there is a lack of published research on the subject in Brazil.

En agosto de 2018, el Consejo Federal de Medicina (CFM), órgano responsable de la supervisión y normalización de la práctica profesional médica en Brasil, publicó un código nacional de ética para estudiantes de medicina (CEMS), que normaliza y sugiere conductas, basadas en los mejores valores morales y éticos, para los estudiantes de medicina, apoyando la humanización de la medicina y ayudando indirectamente a los profesores y gestores de los cursos de medicina. El propósito del estudio fue evaluar la difusión y el conocimiento de las publicaciones científicas sobre el código de la CEMS brasileña, y consistió en una revisión bibliográfica integradora de todas las publicaciones relacionadas con la CEMS brasileña publicadas desde 2005 hasta la actualidad. Encontramos 4 estudios relacionados con códigos de ética regionales y universitarios para estudiantes de medicina publicados desde 2005 hasta 2022, y con respecto a los CEMS elaborados por la FCM, encontramos un único estudio desde su lanzamiento en 2018 hasta 2022. Un CEMS tiene importancia universal, facilitando el desarrollo ético y humano de los futuros médicos, y, a pesar de su importancia en la formación de los médicos, falta investigación publicada sobre el tema en Brasil.

Em agosto de 2018, o Conselho Federal de Medicina (CFM), órgão responsável pela fiscalização e normatização do exercício profissional médico no Brasil, publicou um código nacional de ética do estudante de medicina (CEMS), que padroniza e sugere condutas, com base nos melhores valores morais e éticos, para os estudantes de medicina, apoiando a humanização da medicina e auxiliando indiretamente os professores e gestores dos cursos de medicina. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a disseminação e a conscientização das publicações científicas sobre o código CEMS brasileiro, e consistiu em uma revisão integrativa da literatura de todas as publicações relacionadas ao CEMS brasileiro publicadas de 2005 até o presente. Encontramos 4 estudos relacionados a códigos de ética regionais e universitários para estudantes de medicina publicados de 2005 a 2022 e, com relação ao CEMS elaborado pela FCM, encontramos um único estudo desde seu lançamento em 2018 até 2022. Um CEMS tem importância universal, facilitando o desenvolvimento ético e humano dos futuros médicos, e, apesar de sua importância na formação dos médicos, há uma carência de pesquisas publicadas sobre o assunto no Brasil.

Code of ethics for Brazilian medical students. A literature review

In August 2018, the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), the body responsible for the supervision and standardization of medical professional practice in Brazil, published a national code of ethics for medical students (CEMS), which standardizes and suggests behaviors, based on the best moral and ethical values, for medical students, supporting the humanization of medicine and indirectly helping teachers and managers of medical courses. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the dissemination and awareness of scientific publications on the Brazilian CEMS code and consisted of an integrative literature review of all publications related to the Brazilian CEMS published from 2005 to the present. We found 4 studies related to regional and university codes of ethics for medical students published from 2005 to 2022, and regarding the CEMS elaborated by the FCM, we found a single study from its launch in 2018 to 2022. A CEMS has universal importance, facilitating the ethical and human development of future physicians, and despite its importance in the training of physicians, there is a lack of published research on the subject in Brazil.

En agosto de 2018, el Consejo Federal de Medicina (CFM), órgano responsable de la supervisión y normalización de la práctica profesional médica en Brasil, publicó un código nacional de ética para estudiantes de medicina (CEMS), que normaliza y sugiere conductas, basadas en los mejores valores morales y éticos, para los estudiantes de medicina, apoyando la humanización de la medicina y ayudando indirectamente a los profesores y gestores de los cursos de medicina. El propósito del estudio fue evaluar la difusión y el conocimiento de las publicaciones científicas sobre el código de la CEMS brasileña, y consistió en una revisión bibliográfica integradora de las publicaciones relacionadas con la CEMS brasileña publicadas desde 2005 hasta la actualidad. Encontramos 4 estudios relacionados con códigos de ética regionales y universitarios para estudiantes de medicina publicados desde 2005 hasta 2022, y, respecto de los CEMS elaborados por la FCM, encontramos un único estudio desde su lanzamiento en 2018 hasta 2022. Un CEMS tiene importancia universal, facilitando el desarrollo ético y humano de los futuros médicos, y, a pesar de su importancia en la formación de los médicos, falta investigación publicada sobre el tema en Brasil.

Em agosto de 2018, o Conselho Federal de Medicina (CFM), órgão responsável pela fiscalização e normatização do exercício profissional médico no Brasil, publicou um código nacional de ética do estudante de medicina (CEMS), que padroniza e sugere condutas, com base nos melhores valores morais e éticos, para os estudantes de medicina, apoiando a humanização da medicina e auxiliando indiretamente os professores e gestores dos cursos de medicina. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a disseminação e a conscientização das publicações científicas sobre o código CEMS brasileiro, e consistiu em uma revisão integrativa da literatura de todas as publicações relacionadas ao CEMS brasileiro publicadas de 2005 até o presente. Encontramos 4 estudos relacionados a códigos de ética regionais e universitários para estudantes de medicina publicados de 2005 a 2022 e, com relação ao CEMS elaborado pela FCM, encontramos um único estudo desde seu lançamento em 2018 até 2022. Um CEMS tem importância universal, facilitando o desenvolvimento ético e humano dos futuros médicos, e, apesar de sua importância na formação dos médicos, há uma carência de pesquisas publicadas sobre o assunto no Brasil.

The search for the principle of justice for infertile couples: characterization of the brazilian population and bioethical discussion.

BACKGROUND: Infertility is an increasingly prevalent disease in society and is considered by the World Health Organization to be a public health problem. An important ethical issue arises from the clarification of reproductive rights in a fair and equal way. The objective of this study was to deepen and update the knowledge and discussion about the difficulty of accessing infertility treatments in Brazil. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was carried out through the application of an online questionnaire that collected the socioeconomic characteristics of couples and identify how barriers to infertility care affect the most vulnerable populations. We included couples who sought medical assistance to achieve pregnancy at two clinics in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. RESULTS: A total of 201 questionnaires were analyzed. Most couples self-declared as white and the average age of wives was 36 years and husbands 38 years. 65% (65%) of couples would proceed with the treatment in a different city to which they lived, 37% evaluated as having easy access to a medical specialist only after indication, and more than half of the participating have thought about giving up the treatment due to some difficulty in accessing it. 39% of participants sought more than one medical service to find better reception, 42% of couples sought more than one medical service to define where it would be better financially, and 67.2% referred to the high cost of treatments, that is, financial issues, as a great difficulty in accessing medical services and/or treatment. Although 72.6% of couples considered having a good quality of life, 54.2% admitted that infertility and the search for treatment generated anxiety/stress in the couple's life. CONCLUSION: There is a need for public education on reproductive health and for policymakers to raise awareness of the importance of the difficulty that many couples face in seeking treatment to become pregnant, especially in countries with less financial resources. Indeed, it is commonly accepted that there is a universal human right to access healthcare of appropriate quality as a matter of justice. Discussion of access to reproductive technologies should be considered taking into account the longstanding ethical debate regarding fertility, fecundity, and infertility, as well as reproductive care.

Complexity of patient care needs in palliative care: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Recognizing the need for palliative care (PC) and referral to PC teams improves patients' quality of life. However, in patients with moderate/severe clinical complexity, early recognition of the need for PC may not correspond to referral to specialized PC services. The definition for clinical complexity is still underexplored, as well as the instruments available to assess complexity. This scoping review aims to gather relevant information on the definition of clinical complexity in PC, as well as on the instruments used to objectively assess complexity. METHODS: According to the methodology of a Scoping Review, the keywords: "palliative care", "hospitalization criteria", "complexity criteria", "complexity assessment" and "clinical complexity", were searched in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and b-on databases, during April 2022, for relevant information on the definition and/or approach and/or protocols related to clinical complexity in patients followed in PC, or on the instruments used to assess it, regardless of study design, the language, or year of publication. RESULTS: From the 626 references found, 15 studies were included in the review. According to these studies, complexity may be organized/defined into 3, 4, or 6 domains, generally including the patient, the family, the health system, and the socio-cultural context. Of the 13 instruments mentioned for the objective assessment of complexity, the HexCom, IDC-Pal, and the recent ID-PALL seem to offer the broadest determinations of complexity. CONCLUSIONS: Complexity is a dynamic process, which reflects the reality of patients and families, and patients, families, and health professionals' perceptions, and so it must be systematically adjusted to the stage of the disease. The definition of complexity and the development and use of suitable instruments can help to identify, assess, and improve patients' quality of life, while supporting their family across the grieving process. Yet, this may not always be summarized in a quantitative value by easy-to-use instruments, highlighting the role of PC interdisciplinary teams.

2ª CNSMu na (re)construção da Saúde das Mulheres: desafios da integralidade com equidade / 2nd CNSMu in the (re)construction of Women's Health: challenges of integrality with equity

O presente documento apresenta o Relatório Final da 2ª Conferência Nacional da Saúde das Mulheres ­ 2ª CNSMU, contendo 285 (duzentas e oitenta e cinco) propostas debatidas nos grupos de trabalho e 16 (dezesseis) moções aprovadas na plenária final por 1.205 (mil duzentos e cinco) delegadas. A 2ª CNSMU que teve como tema central "Saúde das mulheres: Desafios para a integralidade com equidade", foi organizada e realizada em Brasília pelo Conselho Nacional de Saúde (CNS), no período de 17 a 20 de agosto de 2017, contando com 1.778 participantes, sendo 91.2% mulheres e 8.5% homens entre: delegadas/os, participantes livres, membros de comissões organizadoras e convidados. Assim, a 2ª CNSMU consagrou-se como marco na saúde das mulheres brasileiras, por dar visibilidade às diversidades e pluralidades das expressões do feminino, sendo também um espaço de escuta e respeito.

Advance Care Planning and Goals of Care Discussion: Barriers from the Perspective of Medical Residents.

BACKGROUND: Advance care planning (ACP) and goals of care discussion involve the exploration of what is most important to a person to prepare for health-care decision making. Despite their well-established benefits, they are still not frequently performed in clinical oncology practice. This study aims to describe the barriers to discussion goals of care with oncology patients from the perspective of medical residents. METHODS: This cross-sectional and qualitative study applied the "Decide-Oncology" questionnaire, adapted to Portuguese language, to assess barriers to goals of care discussion among medical residents from three university hospitals in Brazil. Residents were asked to rank the importance of various barriers to discuss goals of care (ranging from 1-extremely unimportant to 7-extremely important). RESULTS: Twenty-nine residents answered the questionnaire (30.9%). The most reported barriers were related to patients and their families' difficulty in understanding and accepting the diagnosis and the prognosis as well as patients' desire to receive full active treatment. Furthermore, the physician and external factors such as lack of training and lack of time to have these conversations were also very important barriers. The identification of the key barriers that limit the discussion of ACP and early palliative care referrals can certainly help to prioritize the next steps for future studies aimed at improving ACP and goals of care discussions.

Admission to the Emergency Department by Patients Being Followed up for Palliative Care Consultations.

INTRODUCTION: Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of patients and families facing life-threatening diseases. Admissions to the emergency department are considered potentially avoidable. This study aims to characterize the use of the emergency department by palliative care patients at a public hospital in Portugal. METHODS: This retrospective study included patients who had their first palliative care appointment during the year 2019; 135 patients were included, with 255 admissions to the emergency department. Descriptive statistical analysis consisted of calculating the absolute (n) and relative (%) frequencies for categorical variables and medians (Mdn) and percentiles (P25 and P75) for continuous variables. The multivariable associations were calculated via logistic models, with the statistical significance set to p < 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: Dying in hospital was associated with going to the emergency department. Patients who died in hospital had more admissions and spent more time there. CONCLUSION: Emergency department admissions suggest that there are gaps in the provision of care. It is necessary to anticipate crisis situations, provide home and telephone appointments, and invest in professionals' education to respond to the needs that will grow in the future.

Advance care planning and goals of care discussion: the perspectives of Brazilian oncologists.

BACKGROUND: Advance care planning (ACP) and goals of care discussions are important instruments that enable respect for patient autonomy, especially in patients with a life-threatening disease, such as cancer. Despite their well-established benefits, ACP and goals of care discussions are still not frequently performed in clinical oncology practice. Understanding the barriers to this topic is the first step toward developing future interventions that are more likely to improve professional practice and patient satisfaction with care. AIM: To explore Brazilian oncologists' barriers to discuss goals of care and advance care planning. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was developed to identify Brazilian oncologists' barriers to discussing goals of care and ACP. The Decide-Oncology questionnaire was used to identify the importance of these barriers according to oncologists' perceptions. Participants were asked to rank the importance of various barriers to discussing goals of care, ranging from 1 (extremely unimportant) to 7 (extremely important). A quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics was used, including median and interquartile intervals and a qualitative analysis based on Bardin content analysis of the two open questions. RESULTS: Sixty-six oncologists participated in this study. Most of them perceived the patient and family's related barriers as the most important, such as patients' difficulty in understanding their diagnosis and accepting their prognosis. Physician and external related factors, such as lack of training and lack of time for this conversation, were also described as important barriers. Participants with formal training regarding goals of care communication and with experience in palliative care perceived the lack of patients' advanced directives as a significant barrier and manifested more willingness to participate in decision-making about goals of care. The lack of access and of support for referral to palliative care was also considered a significant barrier for ACP and goals of care discussion. CONCLUSION: The identification of barriers that limit the discussion of ACP and early palliative care referrals can certainly help to prioritise the next steps for future studies aimed at improving ACP and helping clinicians to better support patients through shared decision-making based on the patient's values and experiences.

Planejamento antecipado de cuidados: guia prático / Advance care planning: a practical guide / Planificación anticipada de atención: una guía práctica

Resumo O planejamento antecipado de cuidados é um processo de discussões entre profissionais de saúde e pacientes que permite a tomada de decisão compartilhada quanto a objetivos de cuidados de saúde, atuais e/ou futuros, com base nos desejos e valores do paciente e em questões técnicas do cuidado. É considerado fundamental na prestação de cuidados de excelência em fim de vida, permitindo que profissionais de saúde alinhem os cuidados prestados com o que é mais importante para o paciente. Apesar de seus benefícios, ainda é muito pouco realizado na prática clínica, especialmente no Brasil. Considerando a necessidade de guias práticos de planejamento antecipado de cuidados adaptados à realidade brasileira, pautados em estratégias de comunicação empática, este estudo é uma proposta de guia baseada em revisão integrativa da literatura (PubMed e SciELO), com recomendações de evidências atuais, incluindo instrumentos validados para o português (Brasil), para facilitar sua implementação na prática clínica.

Abstract Advance care planning is a process of discussion between healthcare professionals and patients that enables shared decision-making on current and/or future healthcare goals, based on patients' desires and values and technical care issues. Advance care is considered essential in the provision of quality terminal care, allowing healthcare professionals to align the care provided with what is most important to the patient. Despite its benefits, it is still underused in clinical practice, especially in Brazil. Considering the need for practical guides for advance care planning adapted to the Brazilian reality, drawing on empathetic communication strategies, this study is a guide proposal based on an integrative literature review (PubMed and SciELO), with recommendations of current evidence, including instruments validated for Portuguese (Brazil), to facilitate its implementation in clinical practice.

Resumen La planificación anticipada de atención es un proceso de discusión entre los profesionales de la salud y los pacientes que permite la toma de decisiones relacionadas a los objetivos de atención médica actuales y/o futuros, basadas en los deseos y valores del paciente y en cuestiones técnicas de la atención. Resulta ser una apropiada atención terminal, ya que estos profesionales pueden adecuar la atención con los deseos del paciente. Pese a sus beneficios, es poco realizada en la práctica clínica, especialmente en Brasil. Dada la necesidad de guías prácticas para la planificación anticipada de atención, adaptadas a la realidad brasileña y basadas en estrategias comunicativas empáticas, este estudio propone una guía a partir de una revisión integradora de la literatura (PubMed y SciELO), con recomendaciones de evidencia actual, incluidos instrumentos validados para el portugués brasileño para facilitar su aplicación en la práctica clínica.

Coping Strategies Used by Patients After Diagnosis Disclosure in the Transition to Palliative Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to identify the coping strategies used by cancer and non-cancer patients with palliative needs, and to verify if there were differences in the coping strategies adopted between sociodemographic groups. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out from September to November 2019, at Maputo Central Hospital, in the units of Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedics, Gynecology and Obstetrics. Eligible patients (n = 94) were included in the study and answered a self-completion scale adapted from the Coping Strategies Inventory by Folkman and Lazarus together with a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: Our study demonstrates that the most used coping strategies were Social Support, followed by Planful Problem Solving, Escape-Avoidance, and Positive Reappraisal strategies. In addition, significant differences were observed between religious beliefs, with Christians resorting more to coping strategies related to Social Support, Accepting Responsibility and Escape-Avoidance than Evangelicals, and between different levels of education, with greater resort to Social Support, Accepting Responsibility, Planful Problem Solving, and Positive Reappraisal in patients with high education. Conclusions: The results indicate that most of the respondents in this study used more adaptive coping strategies, such as Social Support and Positive Reappraisal, and less avoidant strategies, such as Distancing and Confrontation. There is a need to reinforce positive strategies from health professionals to increase satisfaction, autonomy, and promote patient's quality of life.

How Supportive Ethical Relationships Are Negatively Related to Palliative Care Professionals' Negative Affectivity and Moral Distress: A Portuguese Sample.

In the modern healthcare landscape, moral distress has become an increasingly common phenomenon among healthcare professionals. This condition is particularly prevalent among palliative care professionals who are confronted with bioethical issues in their daily practice. Although some studies described the effects of poor ethical climate and negative affectivity on moral distress, how these variables could be incorporated into a single model is still unclear. Thus, this study aims to investigate whether ethical relationships with the hospital could be related to the intensity and frequency of moral distress, both directly and as mediated by professionals' negative affectivity. Sixty-one Portuguese palliative care professionals completed web-based self-report questionnaires. After exploring descriptive statistics, mediation analyses were performed using the partial least squares method. The results indicated that the presence of positive relationships with the hospital reduced the professionals' negative affectivity levels. This, in turn, led palliative care professionals to experience a lower frequency and intensity of moral distress. Being a physician was positively associated with negative affectivity but not with the frequency of moral distress. Considering the protective role of ethical relationships with hospitals, health organizations could consider implementing interventions to improve hospitals' ethical climate and provide staff with ethics training programs.

Bioethics curriculum in medical schools in Portuguese-speaking countries.

BACKGROUND: A curriculum is a fundamental tool for educators, and teaching bioethics is fundamental to good medical practice. Studies report a lack of consensus on the teaching of bioethics in undergraduate medicine, and a critical issue is that there remain no minimum curricular parameters. This study performed an analysis between the bioethics curricula of the medical schools of Brazil and Portugal and UNESCO's Core Curriculum, in addition to proposing key criteria for designing a core bioethics curriculum. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study that analyzes the bioethics curricula of the medical schools in Brazil and in Portugal. The design of the study includes a qualitative summative content analysis-based approach and a quantitative analysis by means of descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Bioethics is taught in both Brazil and Portugal in a diversified way. The results showed that 65.5% of the medical schools analyzed provided at least the 30-h minimum workload recommended by the UNESCO Core Curriculum. Furthermore, bioethics sporadically offered at the end of the medical program in the vast majority of schools studied. CONCLUSIONS: The most important points to take away from this study are the diversity of the curricular structure of bioethics courses and the lack of formalization of bioethics in the curricula of medical schools in Brazil and Portugal. Given the value of bioethics in clinical practice, we propose that medical schools in Portugal and Brazil update their curricula to encompass minimum criteria, which should be similar to one another and based on common sources, but which should also be tailored to each culture.

Advance Directives: Knowledge of the Topic Among Psychiatrists.

Objective: Advance directives are becoming increasingly important as health technologies evolve. We sought to assess psychiatrists' knowledge of advance directives, as this knowledge is fundamental to the implementation and drafting of these personal documents. Methods: A previously published questionnaire that evaluated the knowledge of medical professors was used. The sample, composed of psychiatrists from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, originated from a publicly available list. During the search process, the COVID-19 pandemic affected Brazil and the rest of the world, which influenced our methodology and results. Results: A total of 40 psychiatrists participated in the study. The results obtained, although not significant, suggested that psychiatrists with an increased time of practice had more knowledge of advance directives. Nevertheless, less than half of the participants had knowledge about this topic. Conclusion: The number of psychiatrists surveyed indicates the need for further studies on the subject. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on this study led to findings such as a change in sensitivity when addressing the topic and greater difficulty in contacting professionals.