Palliative Care Symptoms, Outcomes, and Interventions for Chronic Advanced Patients in Spanish Nursing Homes with and without Dementia

Daniel Puente-Fernández, Concepción Petra Campos-Calderón, Ana Alejandra Esteban -Burgos, César Hueso-Montoro, Concepción Beatriz Roldán-López and Rafael Montoya-Juárez
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Daniel Puente-Fernández: phD Student in Doctoral Programme in Clinical Medicine and Public Health, University of Granada, 18012 Granada, Spain
Concepción Petra Campos-Calderón: Alicante Biomedical Research Institute (ISABIAL), 03001 Alicante, Spain
Ana Alejandra Esteban -Burgos: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
César Hueso-Montoro: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
Concepción Beatriz Roldán-López: Department of Statistics and Operational Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
Rafael Montoya-Juárez: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the symptomatology, palliative care outcomes, therapeutic procedures, diagnostic tests, and pharmacological treatments for people with dementia (PWD) and without dementia (PW/OD) admitted to Spanish nursing homes. Design: This was a cross-sectional study which is part of a long-term prospective follow-up of elderly people performed in nursing homes to measure end-of-life care processes. Participants: 107 nursing home patients with advanced or terminal chronic diseases were selected according to the criteria of the Palliative Care Spanish Society. Setting: Two trained nurses from each nursing home were responsible for participant selection and data collection. They must have treated the residents and had a minimum seniority of 6 months in the nursing home. Measurements: Sociodemographic data; Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale; Palliative Care Outcome Scale; and prevalence of diagnostic tests, pharmacological treatments, and therapeutic procedures were evaluated. Results: Pain, fatigue, and nausea were found to be significantly higher in the nondementia group and insomnia, poor appetite, and drowsiness were significantly higher in the dementia group. Patient anxiety, support, feeling that life was worth living, self-worth, and practical matters management were higher in the nondementia group. Regarding drugs, use of corticoids was higher in the nondementia group, while use of anxiolytics was higher in the dementia group. Diagnostic procedures such as urine analysis and X-ray were higher in the dementia group. Conclusions: Differences in symptom perception, diagnostic tests, and pharmacological procedures were found between patients with and without dementia. Specific diagnostic tools need to be developed for patients with dementia.

Keywords: validation studies; nursing; nursing students; palliative care; self-efficacy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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