Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T20:51:10.715Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Medical oncologist's commitment in end-of-life care of cancer patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2013

Romeo Bascioni ,
Francesca Giorgi ,
Barbara Esperide ,
Manuela Brugni ,
Farnoosh Basirat ,
Francesca Rastelli ,
Giorgio De Signoribus  and
Lucio Giustini
Romeo Bascioni*
Affiliation:
Ospedale Augusto Murri, Fermo, Hospice di Montegranaro, Italy
Francesca Giorgi
Affiliation:
Ospedale Madonna del Soccorso, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
Barbara Esperide
Affiliation:
Ospedale Augusto Murri, Fermo, Hospice di Montegranaro, Italy
Manuela Brugni
Affiliation:
Ospedale Madonna del Soccorso, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
Farnoosh Basirat
Affiliation:
Ospedale Augusto Murri, Fermo, Hospice di Montegranaro, Italy
Francesca Rastelli
Affiliation:
Ospedale Augusto Murri, Fermo, Hospice di Montegranaro, Italy
Giorgio De Signoribus
Affiliation:
Ospedale Madonna del Soccorso, San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
Lucio Giustini
Affiliation:
Ospedale Augusto Murri, Fermo, Hospice di Montegranaro, Italy
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Romeo Bascioni, Unità di Oncologia Medica, Ospedale Murri, 63900 Fermo, Italy. E-mail [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

Cancer patients and family members can feel abandoned by their oncologist at the transition to end-of-life (eoL) care. In this study, we evaluated the level of satisfaction of family caregivers when the oncology team assisted the patient until death.

Methods:

Two oncology units were reorganized to ensure continuity of care; oncologists trained in palliative care medicine assisted patients until death. Relatives who assisted the patient at home or at an inpatient hospice underwent a semi-structured phone interview >1 month after the patient's death. Satisfaction was measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging from very dissatisfied (score 0) to very satisfied (score 100).

Results:

Relatives of 65 patients were contacted, 55 accepted the interview. Patients were followed at home (41) or at an inpatient hospice (14), for 1–24 weeks (median 3 weeks). A specific question on the relevance of the oncologist having a role in EoL care produced a score of 82. The overall satisfaction score was higher than in our previous study in which a continuity of care model was not adopted, with a score improvement from 55/100 to 84/100 (p < 0.001).

Significance of results:

A care program where the oncologist is involved in EoL management improved the satisfaction of caregivers of cancer patients. When a longstanding and trusting relationship has been established, the connection between the patient and the oncologist should not be lost.

Keywords

medical oncologist's trainingpalliative care in oncologysimultaneous care
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 12 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 351 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

ASCO Task Force of Cancer Care at the End of Life. (1998). Cancer care during the last phase of life. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 16, 1986–1996.Google Scholar
Back, A.L., Young, J.P., McCown, E., et al. (2009). Abandonment at the end of life from patient, caregiver, nurse and physician perspectives. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169, 474–479.Google Scholar
Bascioni, R., Esperide, B., Iacopini, D., et al. (2010). Continuity of care for cancer patients at the end of life. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 28, 15s.Google Scholar
Bruera, E. & Hui, D. (2010). Integrating supportive and palliative care in the trajectory of cancer: Establishing goals and models of care. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 28, 4013–4017.Google Scholar
Han, P.K. & Rayson, D. (2010). The coordination of primary and oncology specialty care at the end of life. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 40, 31–37.Google Scholar
Jackson, V.A., Mack, J., Matsuyama, R., et al. (2008). A qualitative study of oncologists' approaches to end of life care. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 11, 893–906.Google Scholar
Press, I. (2006). Patient Satisfaction: Understanding and Managing the Experience of Care. Chicago: Health Administration Press.Google Scholar
Steinhauser, K.E. (2005). Measuring end-of-life care outcomes prospectively. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 8, 30–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Temel, J.S., Greer, J.A., Muzikansky, A., et al. (2010). Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 363, 733–742.Google Scholar
Teno, J.M. (2005). Measuring end-of-life outcomes retrospectively. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 8, 42–49.Google Scholar
von Gunten, C.F. (2008). Oncologist and end of life care. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 11, 813.Google Scholar
Zhang, B., Nilsson, M.E. & Prigerson, H.G. (2012). Factors important to patient's quality of life at the end of life. Archives of Internal Medicine, 13, 1133–1142.Google Scholar