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Biomedical subjects

B Ferrell

Publications and source records attributed to B Ferrell.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Pain observed: the experience of pain from the family caregiver's perspective.

Researchers have studied pain and family caregiving across ages and various diseases. They have begun to explore barriers to family caregivers' roles in pain management and to assess family caregivers' knowledge and beliefs about pain. One consistent finding is that the fears and the inappropriate knowledge and beliefs of family caregivers often are worse than those of patients. This article provides a brief description of the program of research performed by the author and colleagues over the past 16 years related to pain management at home and to the role of family caregivers.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

NHPCO Task Force Statement on the Ethics of Hospice Participation in Research.

There is an urgent need for robust empirical data to guide the assessment and treatment of patients near the end of life. Because they are important providers of end-of-life care in this country, hospices have an important role to play in facilitating this research. However, hospices may also face considerable ethical challenges in doing so. This task force statement begins by discussing the importance of hospices' potential contributions to research. Next, we describe ways in which characteristics of hospice patients, and hospices' structure, create ethical challenges that may limit these contributions. We conclude by proposing ways in which hospices and national professional organizations can begin to overcome some of these challenges.

Ethics Committees, Research↗
PubMed2000

Analysis of pain content in nursing textbooks.

This paper reports on one goal of a project designed to improve end-of-life (EOL) care in nursing education. The goal was to improve the content regarding pain and EOL care included in major nursing textbooks. A descriptive study used content analysis of 50 textbooks selected from a potential of over 700 texts used in nursing education. The 50 texts included 45,683 pages. The text review was conducted using an analysis framework and included content analysis as well as quantification of the content present in the texts. While pain was the most common topic in the texts, the 248 pages of pain content represents only 0.5% of total text content. All nine areas of EOL content (902 pages) comprised only 2% of overall text. Particular weaknesses in the review of pain content were recognized in pharmacologic management of pain. In summary, nursing texts have limited content on pain. Increased attention to this area is essential to prepare nurses to care for patients at the end of life.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed2000

Beyond the Supreme Court decision: nursing perspectives on end-of-life care.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe nurses' views of care of the terminally ill. DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE: 300 nurses who completed a survey published in Nursing98 and Nursing Management and 2,033 nurses randomly selected from the Oncology Nursing Society (N = 2,333). METHODS: Mailed end-of-life (EOL) care survey. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Dilemmas, barriers, and effectiveness of EOL care and education and attitudes regarding assisted suicide and euthanasia. FINDINGS: EOL care dilemmas are common in nursing practice, and many barriers exist to providing quality EOL care. Issues of euthanasia and assisted suicide are particularly significant to nurses who struggle to provide pain and symptom relief amid a system characterized by deficiencies in EOL care. CONCLUSIONS: Improved care is contingent on adequate education of nurses as the primary caregivers of patients and families who are facing the end of life. Study findings provide direction for improved care of the terminally ill. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Oncology nurses are centrally involved in care of the terminally ill. Major reform is needed to provide quality EOL care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Analysis of palliative care content in nursing textbooks.

Overall, this study demonstrates significant deficiencies in end-of-life care content in nursing textbooks. Defining palliative care, quality of life at the end of life, and issues of policy, ethics, and law are the foundation of end-of-life care. Analysis of these topics revealed a need to clarify concepts and to apply them within the context of end-of-life care. The analysis also demonstrated a need to transfer findings from palliative care research and concepts from hospice into basic education. In March 1999 the investigators convened a conference in New York in collaboration with a group of medical investigators analyzing EOL content in medical textbooks. The conference was also attended by publishers, editors, and authors of textbooks. The investigators were very encouraged by their interest in and commitment to correcting any weaknesses in their books. The investigators provided them with specific recommendations for improvement and resources for locating both appropriate content and authors with palliative care expertise. These resources are also made available on the City of Hope Pain Resource Center Web site (http:@mayday.coh.org). Achieving the overall project goal of strengthened nursing education in end-of-life care will be reached through a variety of measures. Improving textbooks is but one important step. The various disciplines involved in palliative care can contribute to this project by working in collaboration with textbook publishers.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed2000

NCCN Practice Guidelines for Cancer Pain.

The overall approach to pain management encompassed in these guidelines is comprehensive. It is based on objective pain assessments, utilizes both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions, and requires continual reevaluation of the patient. The NCCN Cancer Pain Practice Guidelines Panel believes that cancer pain can be well controlled in the vast majority of patients if the algorithms presented are systematically applied, carefully monitored, and tailored to the needs of the individual patient.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed2000

Dignity in dying.

Barriers to effective end-of-life care encompass patient, professional, and system issues. Learn the findings of a landmark study on how well nurses meet the needs of dying patients.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1999

Cultural considerations in education for cancer pain management.

BACKGROUND: Ethnicity is an important factor not only in the incidence of cancer but also in relation to symptom management. Inadequate pain management at home has been demonstrated to result in associated physical symptoms as well as great distress to patients and family. METHODS: The study purpose was to evaluate a structure program to educate patients about cancer pain management. The City of Hope quality-of-life (QOL) tool was used to measure patient outcomes in the QOL domains of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being. The Patient Pain Questionnaire was used to assess knowledge and beliefs about pain. RESULTS: A total of 369 patients were enrolled in the study. The three largest groups, Caucasians, Hispanics, and African Americans, were compared. There were several significant differences between groups; overall; Hispanics had the worst pain and QOL outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate significant differences among the three ethnic groups, which indicates a continued need for cultural considerations in patient education.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Analysis of end-of-life content in nursing textbooks.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To determine the amount and types of content regarding pain and end-of-life (EOL) care included in major textbooks used in nursing education. DESIGN: Descriptive. SAMPLE: 50 texts (45,683 pages) selected from a potential of more than 700 texts. METHODS: Content analysis and quantification of nine essential areas of EOL care content present in the texts. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Nine areas of EOL care: palliative care defined; quality of life, pain; other symptom assessment/management; communication with dying patients and families; role/needs of family caregivers in EOL care; death; issues of policy, ethics, and law; and bereavement. FINDINGS: Only 2% of the overall content and 1.4% of chapters in nursing texts were related to EOL care. Based on the analysis, many deficiencies were identified in the texts, including inaccurate information and a lack of information regarding critical EOL topics. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing texts contain limited content regarding EOL care. Increased attention to this area is essential in preparing nurses to care for patients at EOL. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nursing practice is based on the foundation of nursing education. Changes in nursing school curriculum and provision of continuing education for practicing nurses are essential for improved EOL care.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1998

Developing a team for multicultural, multi-institutional research on fatigue and quality of life.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe the process of establishing a multisite team to conduct research with a multicultural focus on fatigue. DATA SOURCES: Articles, book chapters, personal experience. DATA SYNTHESIS: Teamwork facilitated development of a productive professional working group, sharing of resources, and data collection culminating in a research proposal for studying cancer-related fatigue in a multicultural population. CONCLUSIONS: Establishing a common goal by investing time, committing to the process, and establishing trust was the secret to effective team functioning. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The prospect of multi-institutional collaboration has implications for oncology nurses in the areas of research and practice. Goals that could not be achieved easily in the setting of a single institution are reached more easily with multisite collaboration and teamwork.

Cooperative Behavior↗