Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
10
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-8-4
pubmed:abstractText
Despite evidence that doctor-patient communication affects important patient outcomes, patient expectations are often not met. Communication is especially important in terminal illness, when the appropriate course of action may depend more on patient values than on medical dogma. We sought to describe the issues important to terminally ill patients receiving palliative care and to determine whether patient characteristics influence the needs of these patients. We utilized a multimethod approach, first conducting interviews with 22 terminally ill individuals, then using these data to develop a more structured instrument which was administered to a second population of 56 terminally ill patients. Patient needs and concerns were described and associations between patient characteristics and issues of importance were evaluated. Seven key issues were identified in the initial interviews: change in functional status or activity level; role change; symptoms, especially pain; stress of the illness on family members; loss of control; financial burden and conflict between wanting to know what is going on and fearing bad news. Overall, respondent needs were both disease- and illness-oriented. Few easily identifiable patient characteristics were associated with expressed concerns or needs, suggesting that physicians need to individually assess patient needs. Terminally ill patients receiving palliative care had needs that were broad in scope. Given that few patient characteristics predicted responses, and that the majority opinion may not accurately reflect that of an individual patient, health care providers must be aware of the diverse concerns among this population and individualize assessment of each patient's needs and expectations.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
May
pubmed:issn
0277-9536
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
48
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1341-52
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Adolescent, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Adult, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Aged, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Analysis of Variance, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Colorado, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Data Collection, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Female, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Male, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Palliative Care, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Patient Participation, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Patient Satisfaction, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Physician-Patient Relations, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Predictive Value of Tests, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Quality of Life, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Questionnaires, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Statistics, Nonparametric, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Terminal Care, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Terminally Ill, pubmed-meshheading:10369435-Truth Disclosure
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Information needs in terminal illness.
pubmed:affiliation
Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA. jean.kutner@uchsc.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.