Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Corso di laurea in infermieristica - Sede di Modena

Abstract

Background: the use of a path of advance care planning and/or fulfillment of advance treatment directives guarantees compliance with the wishes of older patients who enter the next phase of their life. The purpose of the analysis was to summarize the quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding the improvement of the quality of life of elderly patients and family members, who adhere to a palliative care course, during the terminal stages of the disease. Method: the research considered quantitative and qualitative studies published from 2016 to 2022, which included family members and adult subjects aged 60 or over with chronic or poor disease prognosis. The phenomenon of interest was to evaluate the benefits that a path of palliative care can bring to patients and family members who accompany them in the treatment path. Result: Eleven studies were included in the analysis, two still in the data collection phase, which considered both the experience and efficacy of a palliative care intervention in three thousand eight elderly living patients, four hundred ninety-six elderly deceased patients, two hundred seventy-three family members and twenty nurses. From the analysis of the results, it emerged that palliative care, when applied appropriately, guarantees an improvement in the quality of life in terms of reducing anxiety, fear and respect for the patient's wishes regarding treatment preferences. Unfortunately, there is also a marked scarcity of studies with the present focus of interest, and which assess such a fragile category of the population. Conclusions: A shared care planning process can guarantee a better quality of life, higher quality of care and satisfaction of care. It reduces the fear and anxiety of the family and the patient regarding end-of-life discussions and reduces the costs associated with assistance.