“A palliative end-stage COPD patient does not exist”: a qualitative study of barriers to and facilitators for early integration of palliative home care for end-stage COPD

“A palliative end-stage COPD patient does not exist”: a qualitative study of barriers to and facilitators for early integration of palliative home care for end-stage COPD“A palliative end-stage COPD patient does not exist”: a qualitative study of barriers to and facilitators for early integration of palliative home care for end-stage COPD, Published online: 20 June 2018; doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0091-9Research in Belgium provides insights into the possible implementation of early palliative care (PC) for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While many sufferers of end-stage COPD would benefit emotionally and physically from palliative home care in their final months, many only receive PC in their last few days. Charlotte Scheerens at End-of-life Care Research Group, Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and co-workers at Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) conducted focus group discussions with 28 general practitioners and 28 community nurses to establish the main barriers to and facilitators for palliative home care implementation for end-stage COPD. Barriers included the unpredictability of the disease, lack of patient understanding of COPD, and complex communication issues between staff across primary care, hospitals and community settings. Identifying ‘triggers’ to implement PC—oxygen dependence, for example—and improving communication and understanding of COPD at all levels could facilitate early inte...

Source: npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine - June 20, 2018 Category: Primary Care Authors: Charlotte Scheerens Luc Deliens Simon Van Belle Guy Joos Peter Pype Kenneth Chambaere Source Type: research