The quality of dying and death

Arch Intern Med. 2008 May 12;168(9):912-8. Related Articles, Links Hales S, Zimmermann C, Rodin G.

Department of Psychosocial Oncology & Palliative Care, Princess Margaret Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. sarah.hales@uhn.on.ca

During the past decade, research has examined definitions and conceptualizations of quality of dying and death in different populations. At the same time, there has been a call to clarify the distinctions between quality of dying and death and other end-of-life constructs. The purposes of this article are to (1) review research that examined definitions and conceptualizations of the quality of dying and death, (2) clarify the quality of dying and death construct and its distinction from quality of life and quality of care at the end of life, and (3) outline challenges that remain for health care professionals, researchers, and policy makers. Review of the literature revealed that the quality of dying and death construct is multidimensional, with 7 broad domains: physical experience, psychological experience, social experience, spiritual or existential experience, the nature of health care, life closure and death preparation, and the circumstances of death. The quality of dying and death is subjectively determined with numerous factors that influence its judgment, including culture, type and stage of disease, and social and professional role in the dying experience.
Quality of dying and death is broader in scope than either quality of life at the end of life or quality of care at the end of life, although there is overlap among these constructs.Publication Types:
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PMID: 18474754 [PubMed - in process]

Website: Welcome to End of Life Care Programme

The End of life Care Programme (EoLC) was set up to improve care at the end of life for all wherever they live. This site aims to support the programme by sharing good practice, resources and information.

Conference: PIECING IT TOGETHER

News from the NHS Networks website

"PIECING IT TOGETHER":
Partnership Working to Meet the Palliative and End of Life ...
By editorial@nhsnetworks.info

The National Council for Palliative Care are holding a one day conference at the RCN, London.
The key aims of this event are:

Highlight the importance of palliative and end of life for people with neurological conditions Explore the current level of involvement between neurology and palliative care services and hallenges that are faced Identify unmet training needs and address these
Offer practical solutions to these challenges on managing people with neurological conditions towards the end of life Showcase good practice to influence clinical practice on the ground Provide a forum to discuss how the information learnt can be transferred into realistic actions to initiate change

There there are still a couple of sponsorship opportunities available.

For further information contact Mridu Rana. Booking details and flyer can be found here.

also from NHS Networks website:

End of life care DVD - 10 minute DVD available to health/care professionals 21-05-2008

Critical Care- Latest articles VOL 12 (2008-01-03)

Critical Care-Latest articles
Author(s):
Matt P Wise ; Jade M Cole ; David W Williams ; Mike A Lewis and Paul J Frost
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Articles from Intensive and Critical Care Nursing (Formerly:Intensive Care Nursing)

Critical care nursing in Northern Ireland : A rich history with a future of opportunity
Author(s): Deeny P . ; McFetridge B .
ISSUE: 2008 ; VOL 24 ; PART 3 (06-2008)
Journal Title: Intensive and Critical Care Nursing ( Formerly : Intensive Care Nursing ) Intensive and Critical Care Nursing ( Formerly : Intensive Care Nursing )
Page: 143-149
Print: 0964-3397
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The current role of the consultant nurse in critical care : Consolidation or consternation ?
Author(s): awson D . ; Coombs M .
ISSUE: 2008 ; VOL 24 ; PART 3 (06-2008)
Journal Title: Intensive and Critical Care Nursing ( Formerly : Intensive Care Nursing ) Intensive and Critical Care Nursing ( Formerly : Intensive Care Nursing )
Page: 187-196
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'The way things are done around here' - Developing a culture of effectiveness : A pre - requisite to individual and team effectiveness in critical care
Author(s): Manley K .
ISSUE: 2008 ; VOL 21 ; PART 2 (05-2008)
Journal Title: Australian Critical Care From Proquest NHS (02/2005 - 05/2007)
Page: 83-85
Print: 1036-7314
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Blood, Plasma, and Red Blood Cell Volumes in Intensive Care Unit Patients.

Anesthesia & Analgesia, Volume 106(6)
June 2008
Hahn, Robert MD, PhD
Complete Reference

[Editorial]

A qualitative study into the lived experience of post - CABG patients during mechanical ventilator weaning

Author(s): Schou L . ; Egerod I .
ISSUE: 2008 ; VOL 24 ; PART 3 (06-2008)

Journal Title: Intensive and Critical Care Nursing ( Formerly : Intensive Care Nursing ) Intensive and Critical Care Nursing ( Formerly : Intensive Care Nursing )
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Maintain vigilance in the ICU : How do work hours and sleep affect patient care ?

Author(s):Balas , M . C . ; Casey , C . M . ; Scott , L . D . ; Rogers , A . E .ISSUE:2008 ; VOL 39 ; PART 4
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Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit ( CAM - ICU )

Author(s): M . Klugkist ; B . Sedemund - Adib ; C . Schmidtke ; P . Schmucker ; et al
ISSUE: 2008 ; VOL 57 ; PART 5 (2008/5)
Journal Title: Anaesthesist , Der Anaesthesist , Der
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Vascular surgery , ICU and HDU : a 14 - year observational study

Author(s): Teli , M . ; Morris - Stiff , G . ; Rees , J . R . ; Woodsford , P . V . ; Lewis , M . H .
ISSUE: 2008 ; VOL 90 ; PART 4
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BACCN Event - British Association of Critical Care Nurses

http://www.baccn.org.uk/

The 23rd National BACCN Conference is taking place from Monday 15th until Wednesday 17th September 2008. This year’s Conference, “Caring, Competence & Collaboration” will take place in the North’s spiritual capital for 2000 years, York.

Reforming Emergency Care: Critical care

A major modernisation programme for critical care services is currently underway with the aim of providing an integrated service for critically ill patients wherever they are in the health system. The changes are set out in Comprehensive Critical Care - A Review of Adult Critical Care Services (published 23 May 2000).

Key objectives: To increase capacity
To develop critical care services supporting critically ill patients throughout the hospital - not necessarily restricted to traditional critical care 'units'.
To provide an integrated critical care organisation within and between hospitals working in collaborative critical care networks.
To develop a culture of information gathering to provide robust, comprehensive information and data to support critical care delivery.
Clinical indicators for critical care outreach services
This report describes the role of critical care outreach services in supporting patient care and provides indicators of effectivess for outreach services. Supports the forthcoming clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the care of the acutely ill patient in hospital.

Clinical indicators for critical care outreach services
The national education and competence framework for advanced critical care practitioners
Published: 8 April 2008
This document describes:
the role of an Advanced Critical Care Practitioner
how the role should function within the critical care team
the benefits of introducing the role in clinical practice
a national framework of education and competence for the role within recognised standards of practice

The national education and competence framework for advanced critical care practitioners

Website: Intensive Care Society

The Intensive Care Society is the representative body in the UK for intensive care professionals and patients. The Society is dedicated to the delivery of the highest quality of critical care to patients in the UK.

Critical Insight – An Intensive Care Society (ICS) introduction to UK adult critical care services - Click here to view the PDF document,

Forthcoming Meetings - Intensive Care Society

Please click on one of the following meeting titles for further details:

Intensive Care Joint Symposium - 5 & 6 June 2008

A Symposium to be held at The Royal College of Anaesthetists, Churchill House, London on Thursday 5th and Friday 6th June 2008.

Sessions will include: Technology in the ICU, Research vs Critical care, How safe is Intensive care medicine? Reviewing the current evidence, Respiratory update, Special patients, Improving intensive care practice, Law and ethics: The Mental Capacity Act.

The FOCUS 2008 Meeting -13 June 2008