Hospital and emergency department use in the last year of life: a baseline for future modifications to end-of -life care

Objectives: To describe hospital and emergency department use in the last year of life by people for whom death from cancer or one of another nine conditions was an expected outcome. Design, participants and setting: Retrospective cross-sectional study based on death registrations and morbidity data for 1071 Western Australians who died between 1 August 2005 and 30 June 2006. Decedents had an informal primary carer, did not live in residential aged care and died of a condition amenable to palliative care. Main outcome measures: Total number of hospital admissions; emergency presentations (with and without hospital admission); days spent in hospital by age group at death, sex, metropolitan or rural place of residence and cancer versus non-cancer diagnosis; proportion in hospital on any day in the last 365 days of life; time points of change in the last 365 days of life at which there was an increasing proportion of hospital admissions for those with cancer and non-cancer conditions. Results: All but 4% of the decedents spent time in hospital with a marked increase in hospitalisations in the last 108 days of life for people who died of cancer and the last 83 days of life for people who died of non-cancer conditions. Those with cancer spent less time in hospital than those with other diagnoses. Seventy per cent of the cohort had at least one emergency presentation. On the last day of life, 61.5% of people were in hospital and 4.0% had been seen in emergency departments. Conclusions: Western Australian hospitals currently provide extensive and progressively greater care at the end of life. Identifying patterns of emergency and inpatient use for various disease trajectories will assist in the planning of appropriate services for people where death is an expected outcome

The overall health and risk factor profile of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants from the 45 and up study

Background: Despite large disparities in health outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, detailed evidence on the health and lifestyle characteristics of older Aboriginal Australians is lacking. The aim of this study is to quantify soc

Measuring psychological distress in older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Australians: A comparison of the K-10 and K-5

Objectives: To assess the cross-cultural validity of two Kessler psychological distress scales (K-10 and K-5) by examining their measurement properties among older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and comparing them to those in non-Aboriginal individuals from NSW Australia. Methods: Self-reported questionnaire data from the 45 and Up Study for 1,631 Aboriginal and 231,774 non-Aboriginal people were used to examine the factor structure, convergent validity, internal consistency and levels of missing data of K-10 and K-5. Results: We found excellent agreement in classification of distress of Aboriginal participants by K-10 and K-5 (weighted kappa=0.87), high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha K-10: 0.93, K-5: 0.88), and factor structures consistent with those for the total Australian population. Convergent validity was evidenced by a strong graded relationship between the level of distress and the odds of: problems with daily activities due to emotional problems; current treatment for depression or anxiety; and poor quality of life. Conclusions and implications: K-10 and K-5 scales are promising tools for measuring psychological distress among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 45 and over in research and clinical settings

The overall health and risk factor profile of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants from the 45 and up study

BACKGROUND: Despite large disparities in health outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, detailed evidence on the health and lifestyle characteristics of older Aboriginal Australians is lacking. The aim of this study is to quantify socio-demographic and health risk factors and mental and physical health status among Aboriginal participants from the 45 and Up Study and to compare these with non-Aboriginal participants from the study. METHODS: The 45 and Up Study is a large-scale study of individuals aged 45 years and older from the general population of New South Wales, Australia responding to a baseline questionnaire distributed from 2006–2008. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of self-reported responses from the baseline questionnaire for Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal participants relating to socio-demographic factors, health risk factors, current and past medical and surgical history, physical disability, functional health limitations and levels of current psychological distress were calculated using unconditional logistic regression, with adjustments for age and sex. RESULTS: Overall, 1939 of 266,661 45 and Up Study participants examined in this study identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (0.7%). Compared to non-Aboriginal participants, Aboriginal participants were significantly more likely to be: younger (mean age 58 versus 63 years); without formal educational qualifications (age- and sex- adjusted OR = 6.2, 95% CI 5.3-7.3); of unemployed (3.7, 2.9-4.6) or disabled (4.6, 3.9-5.3) work status; and with a household income < $20,000/year versus ≥$70,000/year (5.8, 5.0-6.9). Following additional adjustment for income and education, Aboriginal participants were significantly more likely than non-Aboriginal participants to: be current smokers (2.4, 2.0-2.8), be obese (2.1, 1.8-2.5), have ever been diagnosed with certain medical conditions (especially: diabetes [2.1, 1.8-2.4]; depression [1.6, 1.4-1.8] and stroke [1.8, 1.4-2.3]), have care-giving responsibilities (1.8, 1.5-2.2); have a major physical disability (2.6, 2.2-3.1); have severe physical functional limitation (2.9, 2.4-3.4) and have very high levels of psychological distress (2.4, 2.0-3.0). CONCLUSIONS: Aboriginal participants from the 45 and Up Study experience greater levels of disadvantage and have greater health needs (including physical disability and psychological distress) compared to non-Aboriginal participants. The study highlights the need to address the social determinants of health in Australia and to provide appropriate mental health services and disability support for older Aboriginal people

A retrospective population based cohort study of access to specialist palliative care in the last year of life: who is still missing out a decade on?

Background: Historically, specialist palliative care has been accessed by a greater proportion of people dying with cancer compared to people with other life-limiting conditions. More recently, a variety of measures to improve access to palliative care for people dying from non-cancer conditions have been implemented. There are few rigorous population-based studies that document changes in palliative care service delivery relative to the number of patients who could benefit from such services. Method: A retrospective cohort study of the last year of life of persons with an underlying cause of death in 2009-10 from cancer, heart failure, renal failure, liver failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's disease, motor neurone disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and/or HIV/AIDS. The proportion of decedents receiving specialist palliative care was compared to a 2000-02 cohort. Logistic regression models were used identify social and demographic factors associated with accessing specialist palliative care. Results: There were 12,817 deaths included into the cohort; 7166 (56 %) from cancer, 527 (4 %) from both cancer and non-cancer conditions and 5124 (40 %) from non-cancer conditions. Overall, 46.3 % of decedents received community and/or hospital based specialist palliative care; a 3.5 % (95 % CI 2.3-4.7) increase on specialist palliative care access reported ten years earlier. The majority (69 %; n?=?4928) of decedents with cancer accessed palliative care during the last year of life. Only 14 % (n?=?729) of decedents with non-cancer conditions accessed specialist palliative care, however, this represented a 6.1 % (95 % CI 4.9-7.3) increase on the specialist palliative care access reported for the same decedent group ten years earlier. Compared to decedents with heart failure, increased odds of palliative care access was observed for decedents with cancer (OR 10.5; 95 % CI 9.1-12.2), renal failure (OR 1.5; 95 % CI 1.3-1.9), liver failure (OR 2.3; 95 % CI 1.7-3.3) or motor neurone disease (OR 4.5; 95 % CI 3.1-6.6). Living in major cities, being female, having a partner and living in a private residence was associated with increased odds of access to specialist palliative care. CONCLUSION: There is small but significant increase in access to specialist palliative care services in Western Australia, specifically in patients dying with non-cancer conditions

Perceived barriers and enablers of physical activity in postpartum women: A qualitative approach

© 2016 Saligheh et al.Background: Postpartum women's recovery from birth can be assisted through increased physical activity (PA). However, women face substantial barriers to participating in exercise and require support to enable them to benefit from increased PA. Methods: This study sought to explore women's beliefs about and experiences of PA and exercise during the 6 weeks to 12 months postpartum period. A cohort of 14 postpartum women from a survey study of the barriers and enablers to exercise participation agreed to take part in interview sessions to provide an in-depth understanding of the women's perceptions of the postpartum period and their physical activity during this time. Results: Findings are presented with reference to the social ecological framework and indicate postpartum women face substantial personal and environmental barriers to PA and exercise participation: fatigue, a lack of motivation and confidence, substantial time constraints, lack of access to affordable and appropriate activities and poor access to public transport. In contrast, enablers such as possessing greater social support, in particular partner support, improved PA and exercise participation. Conclusions: The findings encourage facilitation of exercise through mothers' groups, mothers' exercise clubs or postnatal classes suggesting behavioral and social change is needed. Interaction between individuals, community, organizations and policy makers is required. In addition, the provision of specifically tailored and appropriate exercise programs could potentially enable increased PA in postpartum women, thereby improving their health

Who needs bereavement support? A population based survey of bereavement risk and support need

This study identifies and describes the profiles of bereavement risk and support needs of a community sample in Australia and tests the fit of the data with the three-tiered public health model for bereavement support. Family members who were bereaved 6-24 months prior to the survey and who were clients of four funeral providers participated (May-July 2013). A postal survey was used to collect information about bereaved people's experience of caring and perceived satisfaction with any bereavement support provided. The questionnaire included a validated risk assessment screening measure for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PG-13). A total of 678 bereaved people responded. The model predicted that 60% of the sample would be low risk, 30% moderate risk, and 10% high risk. Actual figures were very close at 58.4%, 35.2%and 6.4% respectively. The analysis of the demographic characteristics, experience and impact of caring and bereavement, and satisfaction with support received from a variety of sources revealed differential experiences and needs that align with the expectation of low, moderate, and high bereavement support need, as articulated in the public health model. This is the first empirical test of the public health model of bereavement support. As there is a lack of clear evidence to guide development and allocation of bereavement support programs, the findings have the potential to inform the ability of services, community organizations and informal networks to prioritize care according to each level of bereavement need. This is essential to achieve cost-effective and equitable resource allocation

Cancer survivors' experiences of using survivorship care plans: a systematic review of qualitative studies

Purpose: Cancer survivorship care plans (SCPs) are currently used in care settings to assist survivors during the transition from treatment to survivorship. In this paper, the experiences of cancer survivors are examined to provide their perspective of how survivorship care plans are used in practice. Methods: A systematic review and critical review of the qualitative literature regarding the experiences of cancer survivors using survivorship care plans was completed. Databases reviewed included CINAHL, AMED, Embase, MEDLINE, Informit, ProQuest, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, Scopus and Web of Science from 2000 to 2014.ResultsEleven qualitative studies were appraised for methodological quality and content. They revealed four key themes: stakeholders agreed that SCPs should be used as a key strategy for cancer survivors; there was a lack of consensus on the format, content and who should develop the SCP; cancer survivors do not consistently receive SCPs; and there was a lack of evidence to support the use of SCPs in practice. Conclusions: There is great potential for SCPs to assist cancer survivors and this is supported by the range of qualitative literature examined in this study. Further research is required to examine the many practical issues relating to the delivery of SCPs and how they may be used across a variety of care contexts as well as providing further evidence to support their use. Implications for Cancer Survivors: With further research, refinement and contributions made by survivors, health researchers and health care professionals, the survivorship care plan is proposed to be a useful and practical tool aimed at supporting the survivorship continuum of care

A dyadic approach to understanding the impact of breast cancer on relationships between partners during early survivorship

© 2016 The Author(s). Background: The shared impact of breast cancer for women and their male partners is emerging as an important consideration during the experience of a breast cancer diagnosis, particularly during survivorship. This study aimed to explore the experiences of women and their partners during early survivorship and contributes a range of insights into the lives of those intimately affected by breast cancer. Methods: In-depth interviews were completed with Australian women survivors of breast cancer (n = 8) and their partners (n = 8), between six months and five years following cessation of treatment. Questions included a focus on the women and their partners' daily experiences during early survivorship, including the management of ongoing symptoms, engagement in leisure and social interests, returning to work, communicating with each other, maintenance of the current relationship and other important roles and responsibilities. Thematic analysis was employed to determine key themes arising from the dyadic accounts of women and their partners' experiences during early breast cancer survivorship. Results: Women and their partners experienced many changes to their previous roles, responsibilities and relationships during early breast cancer survivorship. Couples also reported a range of communication, intimacy and sexuality concerns which greatly impacted their interactions with each other, adding further demands on the relationship. Three significant themes were determined: (1) a disconnection within the relationship - this was expressed as the woman survivor of breast cancer needing to prioritise her own needs, sometimes at the expense of her partner and the relationship; (2) reformulating the relationship - this reflects the strategies used by couples to negotiate changes within the relationship; and (3) support is needed to negotiate the future of the relationship - couples emphasised the need for additional support and resources to assist them in maintaining their relationship during early survivorship. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the early survivorship period represents a crucial time for both women and their partners and there are currently limited options available to meet their shared needs and preferences for support. Findings indicate that a suitable model of care underpinned by a biopsychosocial framework, access to comprehensive assessment, timely support and the provision of targeted resources are urgently needed to assist women and their partners during this critical time