This viewpoint describes the case of a 4-year-old boy's journey in art therapy after his cancer had returned, which despite surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, ultimately claimed his life. The patient and his family participated in art therapy over the course of 18 months. As an integrated, palliative component of treatment, art therapy helped…

Speech-language pathologists often lack preparation for palliative care practice and this lack of training can lead to poor outcomes for patients. Lack of training can additionally lead to burnout and compassion fatigue in clinicians. Careful implementation of training is necessary to increase the knowledge base for palliative practice and careful…

The client's ability to communicate is key to providing quality palliative end-of-life care. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can facilitate the patient's ability to communicate concerns or preferences in order to (1) improve the health care team's ability to manage symptoms and engage in end-of-life discussions, and (2) support the patient and…

The author of this conceptual article was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to travel to the United States, Ireland, and United Kingdom to meet with researchers, practitioners, and community agencies and review how support for people with intellectual disability is provided. A specific focus was upon provision of care for individuals who were either…

Background: Speech pathologists have a pivotal role in palliative care, assisting patients with swallowing and communication disorders, yet very little is known about the preparedness of speech pathologists to work in this field. Aims: To investigate the preparedness of speech pathologists for working in palliative care. The term 'palliative care'…

We use Wisconsin Longitudinal Study data (n = 2,678) to assess the effects of religious denomination and ideology on end-of-life treatment preferences in two hypothetical terminal illness scenarios: physical pain and severe cognitive impairment. We found no statistically significant differences when comparing traditionally defined religious…

This article is taken from a larger longitudinal study that used caregiver interviews, caregiver surveys, and caregiver statistical information of one community. The interviews were conducted with six spousal caregivers to examine the narratives produced by spouses actively caring for their partners with dementia. The spousal caregivers were…

Quality end-of-life care is subjective and based on individual values and beliefs. An advance directive provides a legal means of communicating these values and beliefs, as well as preferences in regards to end-of-life care when an individual is no longer able to make his or her desires known. In many nations, advance directives are underused…

Purpose of the study: This study examines urban-rural differences in end-of-life (EOL) quality of care provided to nursing home (NH) residents. Data and Methods: We constructed 3 risk-adjusted EOL quality measures (QMs) for long-term decedent residents: in-hospital death, hospice referral before death, and presence of severe pain. We used…

This study examined physicians' attitude, involvement, and perceived barriers with the health care proxy. A cross sectional, correlational design was used to survey practicing physicians (N = 70). Physicians had positive attitudes toward the health care proxy and indicated that the most significant barriers to health care proxy completion were…

This study examined teachers' knowledge and support when working with students with terminal illness or having experienced a student death. One hundred and ninety teachers of students with physical or multiple disabilities responded to a 40 item questionnaire that was distributed nationally. Results indicated that teachers have greater knowledge…

Several studies have shown that the symptoms of grief are different from symptoms of depression among bereaved family members. This study is an attempt to replicate this finding among advanced cancer patients and examine clinical correlates of patient grief and depression. Analyses were conducted on data from interviews with 123 advanced cancer…

The growing number of older adults with heart failure (HF) suggests the need for more information about how people with this condition experience their illness and strategies for coping with this condition. To address this need, the authors conducted a systematic review of the literature and an in-depth, thematic analysis of qualitative…

Context: Growing concern exists among health professionals over the dilemma of providing necessary health care for Canada's aging population. Hospice palliative services are an essential need in both urban and rural settings. Rural communities, in particular, are vulnerable to receiving inadequate services due to their geographic isolation.…

The author discusses an assessment of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's work over a 20-year period to improve end-of-life care in America. The case illustrates the evolution of the strategy from one focused on a multiyear randomized control trial of a series of hospital-based interventions that produced findings of "no effects" into several…