Decision-making support for cancer patients and their families at a palliative care clinic in a designated regional cancer care hospital
10.2512/jspm.10.324
- VernacularTitle:地域がん診療連携拠点病院における緩和ケア外来でのがん患者と家族に対する意思決定支援
- Author:
Hiroaki Watanabe
;
Miho Kojima
;
Yoshimi Okumura
;
Yuki Kato
;
Yuko Deguchi
;
Shigeki Hirano
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Specialized outpatient palliative care services;
decision-making support;
designated regional cancer care hospital
- From:Palliative Care Research
2015;10(1):324-328
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
Objective：There are few reports on decision-making support at palliative care clinics in designated regional cancer care hospitals. This study clarified the types of decisionmaking support patients with cancer and their families were provided by specialized outpatient palliative care services. Method：We retrospectively examined the medical records of 110 patients who had been referred to the palliative care clinic for home care between April 2012 and March 2014. Results：The median duration of receiving services from the palliative care clinic was 23 days（range：1～492 days）. The mean number of visits to the clinic was 4.7 visits（range：1～29 visits）. A total of 89 patients（80％）needed decision-making support. Of those 89 patients, 33（30％）required support in making a decision about anticancer treatment. Twenty-six（78％）of those 33 patients had just received the diagnosis or were receiving anticancer treatment. Conclusion：The study suggested that decision-making support in early stages is an important role for a palliative care clinic in a designated regional cancer care hospital.
