Suchergebnisse

Background: Little is known about research priorities in adult palliative care. Identifying research priorities for adult palliative care will help in increasing research quality and translation. Objective: The aim was to identify the views of health professionals' research priorities in adult palliative care that lead to development of a palliative care research agenda in Australia. Design: A modified three-round Delphi survey. Setting/Subjects: Palliative care researchers and clinicians in Australia were invited to participate. Results: A total of 25 panelists completed round 1, 14 completed round 2, and 13 completed round 3. Round 1 resulted in 90 research priorities in 13 categories. Round 2 showed consensus agreement on 19/90 research priorities. Round 3 resulted in the top 10 research priorities of the 19 achieving consensus in round 2. Panelists agreed that research is needed on the transition to palliative care; improving communication about prognosis; increasing access to palliative care for indigenous communities, people who wish to remain at home, and people in aged care; addressing family caregivers' needs; promoting patients' and families' decision making; improving cross-cultural aspects of palliative care; determining the effects of assisted dying legislation; and improving bereavement care in rural, remote, and Aboriginal populations. Conclusions: The expert panelists identified the top 10 research priorities for adult palliative care. These identified research priorities are the most urgent topics requiring attention to increase the quality of life of patients requiring palliative care and their family members.

Clinicians are aware that children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions are living longer, sometimes into adulthood, but that good data on these young adults are not readily available. This study aimed to describe patterns of diagnoses in children and young adults with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions using routinely collected data. The researchers were a multidisciplinary team comprising experts from medical, statistical, and population geography backgrounds. After explaining the context for the research, this paper discusses the advantages and limitations of using routine data sources and how the multidisciplinary team has guided the specification of the work. Thereafter, this paper details elements relevant to the research including the data sources used, the identification of the population of interest and any necessary data cleaning followed by statements about the statistical measures used. The measures presented in the results were prevalence per 10,000 population by age, sex, diagnostic group, ethnicity, and deprivation using a secondary analysis of Hospital Episode Statistics and populations at risk. The research team all contributed to the interpretation of the results and the writing of the manuscript. During this phase, the team considered which would be an appropriate journal and this was informed by discussing the target audience. It was also useful to reflect on what the main messages of the research would be, and this was achieved by discussing findings with stakeholders.

"Now thought of as a brain disorder, addiction affects millions of individuals, their families, and society at large. Written by experts who treat people with addiction, this text provides an up-to-date explanation of different addictions with respect to their history, treatments, and related research. Readers will understand the causes, complications, and treatment of addictions after reading this text. Chapters cover the most serious addictions to drugs--alcohol, tobacco, opioids, stimulants, inhalants, and sedative hypnotics--and to highly addictive activity now recognized as a behavioral addiction, gambling. Research into these addictions and treatments for each specific addiction are reviewed. Chapters also consider rapidly changing issues related to addiction, including the increase in deaths due to the opioid epidemic, the evolving legal status of marijuana, and the use of hallucinogens in therapy. In addition to forms of addiction, the text addresses the neurobiology of addiction; brain pathways involved in addiction are just beginning to be understood"--Publisher's description

Abstract Background There is an urgent need to develop an evidence base for children's palliative care (CPC) globally, and in particular in resource-limited settings. Whilst the volume of CPC research has increased in the last decade, it has not been focused on countries where the burden of disease is highest. For example, a review of CPC literature in sub Saharan Africa (SSA) found only five peer-reviewed papers on CPC. This lack of evidence is not confined to SSA, but can be seen globally in specific areas, such as an insufficient research and evidence base on the treatment of pain and other symptoms in children. This need for an evidence base for CPC has been recognised for some time, however without understanding the priorities for research in CPC organisations, many struggle with how to allocate scarce resources to research. Method The International Children's Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) undertook a Delphi study between October 2012 and February 2013 in order to identify the global research priorities for CPC. Members of the ICPCN Scientific Committee formed a project working group and were asked to suggest areas of research that they considered to be important. The list of 70 areas for research was put through two rounds of the Delphi process via a web-based questionnaire. ICPCN members and affiliated stakeholders (n = 153 from round 1 and n = 95 from round 2) completed the survey. Participants from SSA were the second largest group of respondents (28.1 % round 1, 24.2 % round 2) followed by Europe. Results A list of 26 research areas reached consensus. The top five priorities were: Children's understanding of death and dying; Managing pain in children where there is no morphine; Funding; Training; and Assessment of the WHO two-step analgesic ladder for pain management in children. Conclusions Information from this study is important for policy makers, educators, advocates, funding agencies, and governments. Priorities for research pertinent to CPC throughout the world have been identified. This provides a much needed starting place for the allocation of funds and building research infrastructure. Researchers working in CPC are in a unique position to collaborate and produce the evidence that is needed.

Depression, now recognized as a significant source of disability across the globe, is something many of us will be familiar with. This book explores the way people have discussed depression and examines how scientific understanding has led to ways to better appreciate and treat the condition.