Core Values of Palliative Care Industry Standards

This presentation reviews relevant literature on the dying phase of illness trajectory in palliative care. It identifies five themes: advanced healthcare directive, policy and procedures, spiritual care, health literacy, and psychological counselling. The implications for practice include identification and diagnosis of disorders, planning an appropriate care plan, and referral to support services for family members. The core value of empowerment is emphasized, with a focus on involving patients and their families in the care process.

Core Values of Palliative Care Industry Standards
REVIEW OF LITERATURES RELEVANT TO DYING PHASE OF ILLNESS TRAJECTORY:
IDENTIFIED THEMES:
FINDINGS:
CONCLUSION:
Therefore, to conclude, it should be stated that palliative care services is not only restricted to managing the complicated symptoms of the patient to assure a peaceful
death but also includes supporting the family members of the patient to empower them and help them cope with the death of their loved one.
IMPLICATION:
REFERENCES:
Bowles, C. 2019. Palliative Care: Myths vs. Facts – Nikki Mitchell Foundation. [online] Nikkimitchellfoundation.org. Available at: https://www.nikkimitchellfoundation.org/palliative-care-myths-vs-facts/
[Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Brebach, R., Sharpe, L., Costa, D.S., Rhodes, P. and Butow, P., 2016. Psychological intervention targeting distress for cancer patients: a meta analytic study investigating uptake and adherence. ‐ Psycho‐
Oncology, 25(8), pp.882-890.
Chen, C.Y., Thorsteinsdottir, B., Cha, S.S., Hanson, G.J., Peterson, S.M., Rahman, P.A., Naessens, J.M. and Takahashi, P.Y., 2015. Health care outcomes and advance care planning in older adults who
receive home-based palliative care: a pilot cohort study. Journal of palliative medicine, 18(1), pp.38-44.
Keall, R.M., Clayton, J.M. and Butow, P.N., 2015. Therapeutic life review in palliative care: a systematic review of quantitative evaluations. Journal of pain and symptom management, 49(4), pp.747-
761.
Lewis, K., 2013. How nurses can help ease patient transitions to end of life care. Nursing older people, 25(8).
Lowcountry, H. 2019. Benefits of Palliative Care Finally Measured - Hospice Care of the Lowcountry. [online] Hospice Care of the Lowcountry. Available at: https://hospicecarelc.org/palliative-care-
benefits-measured/ [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Noonan, K., Horsfall, D., Leonard, R. and Rosenberg, J., 2016. Developing death literacy. Progress in Palliative Care, 24(1), pp.31-35.
Palliative Care (2019). National Palliative Care Standards - Palliative Care. [online] Palliative Care. Available at: https://palliativecare.org.au/standards [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Sellars, M., Silvester, W., Masso, M. and Johnson, C.E., 2015. Advance care planning in palliative care: a national survey of health professionals and service managers. Australian Health Review, 39(2),
pp.146-153.
Tehran Times (2019). Iran to set up palliative care centers for cancer patients. [online] Tehran Times. Available at: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/421384/Iran-to-set-up-palliative-care-centers-
for-cancer-patients [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].
Implications for practice would include three different characteristics which are Identification and diagnosis of disorders that need palliative care, Planning an appropriate
palliative care plan, and Referral to appropriate support services to the family members to empower them and cope with grief and death of a loved one.
Identification and diagnosis of disorders that need palliative care which help provide the patients with a early prevention and treatment plan which will be help to provide
a better health care service.
Planning an appropriate palliative care plan is really important aspect as every patient has different need and the palliative care plan should be provided according to the
patient to provide patient with the highest possible palliative care.
Referral to appropriate support services to the family members to empower them and cope with grief and death of a loved one is really important matter as death is a
inevitable condition. Dealing with the grief of loss of loved is really important matter and it should be one of the prime objectives among the health care professionals. It
is necessary to avoid unnecessary circumstances which can be avoided.
On the basis of the review of the literatures, five themes can be identified and they are Advanced healthcare directive, Policy and Procedures, Spiritual Care, Health
Literacy, and Psychological Counselling.
Advanced healthcare directive can be defined as living will or personal directives that are legal documents which specify the course of actions that must be taken in relation
to healthcare by the care professionals at the end of life care if the patient is no longer capable of taking personal decisions. Research studies suggest that a living will can
be drafted by individuals at any point in their lifetime. With the progress of the chronic illness, the patient loses their ability to take personal decisions and this might lead
to decisions taken against their will. The positive implication of the same can be mentioned as undertaking actions in the best interest of the patient and the negative
implication associated with the absence of the same can be explained as confusion within family members and undertaking actions that do not advocate patient’s
interests.
Palliative policy and procedures are documents that testify the best evidence based practices that must be followed by the team of care professionals in order to improve
the quality of life of the patient who is suffering from a terminal illness. The positive implication of the same can be stated as ideal guidelines for care professionals that
help them plan palliative care for a patient and support the patient’s family members. The absence of the same would lead to missed opportunities of care which would
add to the disease burden of the patient and the family members.
Spiritual care forms the incorporation of spiritual therapy within the palliative care regimen. The positive implication for the same can be mentioned as inducing
empowerment to the patient and the family members to gather strength and cope with the disease burden. The negative implication for the same can be explained as
emergence of psychological stress related to the disease burden.
Health literacy refers to the health education that is imparted to the patient and the family members in order to empower them about the physical health condition of the
patient’s physical health condition. The positive implication for the same can be explained as imparting education and empowering and the family members of the patient
to cope with the disease burden. The negative implication for the same can be explained as lack of education and empowerment that affects coping skills and adds to
distress.
Psychological counselling refers to assisting the patient and the family members with psychological support. The positive implication for the same can be mentioned as
strengthening coping skills and the negative implication for the same can be mentioned as elevating the level of psychological distress.
Palliative care can be defined as the approach that focuses on improving the standard of life of the patients as well as their family members who are affected with a progressive
disorder or a terminal illness. According to the Core Values of the National Palliative Care Standards, the quality palliative care is provided by the healthcare professionals who
are nimble in working with the limitations and strengths of the recipient of the care, and their care givers. The working with strength and limitations of the service users
population of the palliative care helps to promote the concept of empowerment and thereby helping to manage their own situations.
Research studies suggest that care professionals must adhere to the key practice points while planning palliative care. It is recommended for the nursing professionals and practitioners
to ask the patient at any point of time during the care process that in case an adverse event occurred, would they like to be kept under life-saving measures and if yes, then for how long?
The research studies that have been included in the review shed light on the inclusion of alleviating the symptoms of the dying patient so as to ensure a peaceful death.
Undoubtedly the inclusion of advanced healthcare directive, spiritual therapy, health literacy, palliative policy and procedures and psychological counselling of the family
members can help in ensuring a peaceful death of the patient. The following table would discuss and link the identified themes with the National Core Value that has been
selected as ‘empowerment’.
An important consideration for the care professionals is to ask the patients that which loved family member would they trust for the critical decision making process. In
addition to this, nurses can offer support to the patients by referring them useful web links and encouraging the patients to converse about these topic with their family
members.
Care professionals must empower the patients and encourage them to draft their living will as this would preserve their interest and ensure no compromise with the
patient’s wishes when the patient is unable to take independent decisions. Also, inclusion of spiritual therapy within the treatment routine can help in improving the
quality of psychological and mental health of the patient and the family members. Further, imparting health literacy can educate and empower the patient’s family
members to take care of the complex symptoms of the suffering patient affected with an end-of-life disease. Care professionals can assist the family members of the
patient with relevant palliative policies and procedures to undertake appropriate decision in the best interest of the patient. Also, inclusion of psychological education
and counselling therapy can help in supporting the family members of the patient to deal with the grief and disease burden of their patient subjected to palliative care
assistance.
Name: Nagaire Smith; Student No: 1111996
IDENTIFICATION OF CORE VALUE AND IMPLICATION ON FAMILY MEMBERS:
The core value that was chosen for this article is empowerment through palliative care. For this aspect, as an efficient care professional, the patient should be placed in the heart of the care process.
The nursing practice have to be specifically adhere to the National Standards of palliative care so as to alleviate the standard of living of the patient as well as the family members of the patient. In
addition to this, early referral to palliative care should be equipped with effective symptom management by the multidisciplinary team of professionals can yield positive patient outcome. Health care
professional has to make sure that the family members of the patient are actively involved in the care process, so as to ensure holistic wellness.
(Source: Tehrantimes 2019)
(Source: Bowles 2019)
(Source: Lowcountry2019)
(Source: Palliative Care 2019)
Themes Core Value Significance of findings Journal Author
Advanced healthcare directive Empowerment
Empowers the patient to decide the
course of action that should be taken
by care professionals in case the
patient suffers from a long term illness
Advanced healthcare directive helped
patients and their family members
cope better with the cumbersome
burden of the long term illness
Health Care Outcomes and Advance
Care Planning in Older Adults Who
Receive Home-Based Palliative Care: A
Pilot Cohort Study
Definition and recommendations for
advance care planning: an
international consensus supported by
the European Association for Palliative
Care
Chen et al. 2015
Spiritual therapy Empowerment
Empowers the patient and the family
members of the patient with optimism
to cope with the disease burden
Non-pharmacological interventions
such as spiritual therapy enhance the
quality of life of the patients suffering
from end of life diseases; also helped
family members acquire positivity
Therapeutic Life Review in Palliative
Care: A Systematic Review of
Quantitative Evaluations
Care of the human spirit and the role
of dignity therapy: a systematic review
of dignity therapy research
Keall et al. (2015)
Health literacy Empowerment
Empowers the patient and the family
members of the patient with advanced
knowledge about the limiting illness to
cope with the disease burden
Empowered and equipped family
members of the patient to provide
home-based care to the patient
Developing death literacy Noonan et al. (2016)
Palliative policy and procedures Empowerment
Empowers the patient and the family
members to plan the course of
palliative care
Care professionals empower the
patient and the family members to
make appropriate choices with regard
to palliative care services spanning
across different domains of life
Advance care planning in palliative
care: a national survey of health
professionals and service managers
Sellars et al. (2014)
Psychological counselling Empowerment
Empowers the patient and the family
members with emotional and
psychological strength to cope with
the stress
Empowered patient and family
members of the patient to tackle
emotional distress and stress
associated with the disease burden
Psychological intervention targeting
distress for cancer patients: a meta‐
analytic study investigating uptake and
adherence
Brebach et al. (2016)