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Healthcare
Special Issues
Ageing, Chronicity and End of Life Care
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Ageing, Chronicity and End of Life Care

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Chronic Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 5462

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rafael Montoya Juárez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nursing, Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Institute, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
Interests: palliative care; nursing homes; qualitative research; end-of-life
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Daniel Puente-Fernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria (ibs), Granada, Spain
Interests: palliative care; end-of-life care; chronicity; ageing; elderly care; nursing homes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although many people live long, healthy lives, many will eventually be confronted with frailty, multi-morbidity, and serious illnesses. Older people develop different physical, psychological, and/or social difficulties in later life. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring high-quality end-of-life care for all older people in the world has become increasingly important. The pandemic has sharpened the vulnerable position of older people in our society, in nursing homes, in the community and in hospitals.

Papers highlighting the importance of an integrated palliative, geriatric, and rehabilitative care approach for older people, as well as setting-specific and cross-setting interventions, are welcome.

Dr. Rafael Montoya Juárez
Dr. Daniel Puente-Fernández
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • palliative care
  • end-of-life care
  • chronicity
  • ageing
  • elderly care
  • nursing homes

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 411 KiB  
Article
Determinants Affecting the Awareness of Hypertension Complications within the General Population in Saudi Arabia
by Muffarah Hamid Alharthi, Elhadi Miskeen, Eman Abdullah Alotaibi, Ibrahim Awad Eljack Ibrahim, Mohannad Mohammad S. Alamri, Mohammad S. Alshahrani, Dina S. Almunif and Abdullah Almulhim
Healthcare 2024, 12(16), 1674; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12161674 - 22 Aug 2024
Viewed by 480
Abstract
Background: Hypertension imposes a significant public health burden. An increased awareness of hypertension complications within a population can positively impact patient care and prevent complications. This study seeks to assess the awareness of hypertension complications among the population of Bisha in Saudi Arabia [...] Read more.
Background: Hypertension imposes a significant public health burden. An increased awareness of hypertension complications within a population can positively impact patient care and prevent complications. This study seeks to assess the awareness of hypertension complications among the population of Bisha in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020. A validated self-administered online-based questionnaire was sent to a sample of the adult population of Bisha to measure their awareness of hypertension complications. Results: Almost three-quarters of the population (72.2%) were aware of hypertension complications. The awareness level was significantly higher among male participants (p < 0.001), those aged 31–40 years, those who were married, those working as police officers or in civilian jobs, those living in urban areas (p = 0.04), those with a university-level education (p = 0.03), those with a medium family income (SAR 5000–14,999) (p = 0.001), and those with a history of hospitalization because of causes other than hypertension (p = 0.05). Marital status was independently predictive of awareness (B = 0.851, Wald test = 12.179, p = 0.000) among the respondents. Conclusion: The study concludes that the awareness of hypertension complications among the Bisha population in Saudi Arabia was deemed acceptable. Factors such as marital status, age, gender, a family history of hypertension, the duration of hypertension, and medication adherence positively influenced this awareness and served as predictors of hypertensive awareness. The findings highlight the importance of health authorities in ensuring the widespread awareness of hypertension complications, particularly among hypertensive individuals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ageing, Chronicity and End of Life Care)
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17 pages, 1910 KiB  
Article
Therapeutic Obstinacy in End-of-Life Care—A Perspective of Healthcare Professionals from Romania
by Gema Bacoanu, Vladimir Poroch, Maria-Gabriela Aniței, Mihaela Poroch, Eliza Maria Froicu, Alina Mihaela Pascu and Beatrice Gabriela Ioan
Healthcare 2024, 12(16), 1593; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12161593 - 10 Aug 2024
Viewed by 758
Abstract
Background: End-of-life care raises ethical, moral, legal and economic dilemmas, especially when physicians have to decide whether to initiate or to stop treatments that may be considered disproportionate and futile. Aim: To explore the opinion of health care professionals involved in end-of-life patient [...] Read more.
Background: End-of-life care raises ethical, moral, legal and economic dilemmas, especially when physicians have to decide whether to initiate or to stop treatments that may be considered disproportionate and futile. Aim: To explore the opinion of health care professionals involved in end-of-life patient care on interventions considered disproportionate and futile at this stage of care, the causes and factors of pressure leading to such situations, and possible solutions to reduce the phenomenon. Material and method: The study used an adapted, designed questionnaire intended for health professionals caring for patients at the end of life. The 128 respondents were physicians, nurses, psychologists and social workers who expressed their opinions about therapeutic obstinacy in end-of-life care. Results: The results of the research highlight the role of the family as a pressure factor, the causes related to the non-acceptance of the prognosis and diagnosis of a terminal condition, fear of death and ignorance of the patient’s wishes. Interventions considered disproportionate at the end of life were cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, transfusion of blood derivatives, complex diagnostic investigations and the establishment of gastrostomy/jejunostomy in the last days of life. Conclusions: End-of-life therapeutic obstinacy is a reality in end-of-life care, and healthcare professionals face many ethical challenges in this process. Care decisions must be made together with the patient and their family, respecting the rights, dignity and respect of all parties involved in the process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ageing, Chronicity and End of Life Care)
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14 pages, 296 KiB  
Article
Clinical Simulation in Palliative Care for Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Randomized Clinical Trial and Complementary Qualitative Study
by Ana Alejandra Esteban-Burgos, Jesús Moya-Carramolino, Miriam Vinuesa-Box, Daniel Puente-Fernández, María Paz García-Caro, Rafael Montoya-Juárez and Manuel López-Morales
Healthcare 2024, 12(4), 421; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12040421 - 6 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1348
Abstract
Background: a lack of adequate training in palliative care leads to a greater emotional burden on nurses. Purpose: to assess the effect of a simulation using standardized patients on self-efficacy in palliative care, ability to cope with death, and emotional intelligence among nursing [...] Read more.
Background: a lack of adequate training in palliative care leads to a greater emotional burden on nurses. Purpose: to assess the effect of a simulation using standardized patients on self-efficacy in palliative care, ability to cope with death, and emotional intelligence among nursing students. Methods: a randomized clinical trial and qualitative study. A total of 264 nursing students in a palliative care module completed the Bugen, trait meta-mood, and self-efficacy in palliative care scales after active participation in the simulation (n = 51), watching the simulation (n = 113), and the control group (n = 100). An ANOVA with a multi-comparative analysis and McNemar’s tests for paired samples were calculated. Active participants were interviewed, and a thematic analysis was conducted. Results: there was an improvement after the assessment in all three groups assessed for coping with death (p < 0.01), emotional intelligence (p < 0.01), and self-efficacy (p < 0.01). In addition, the active group improved more than the observer group and the control group in coping with death, attention, and repair. The students in the interviews identified sadness and an emotional lack of control. Conclusions: the simulation improved nursing students’ self-efficacy in palliative care. This effect was partially stronger in the active group. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ageing, Chronicity and End of Life Care)
10 pages, 245 KiB  
Article
Does the Response to a Stressful Condition in Older Adults with Life Rhythm Dysregulations Provide Evidence of the Existence of the “Dysregulation of Mood, Energy, and Social Rhythms Syndrome”?
by Diego Primavera, Cesar Ivan Aviles Gonzalez, Ferdinando Romano, Goce Kalcev, Samantha Pinna, Luigi Minerba, Alessandra Scano, Germano Orrù and Giulia Cossu
Healthcare 2024, 12(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12010087 - 29 Dec 2023
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 1039
Abstract
Objective: The COVID-19 lockdown periods have given rise to the “Dysregulation of Mood, Energy, and Social Rhythms Syndrome” (DYMERS). This syndrome is characterized by a poor regulation of biological, social, and behavioral rhythms, including sleep, nutrition, and social contacts. The purpose of this [...] Read more.
Objective: The COVID-19 lockdown periods have given rise to the “Dysregulation of Mood, Energy, and Social Rhythms Syndrome” (DYMERS). This syndrome is characterized by a poor regulation of biological, social, and behavioral rhythms, including sleep, nutrition, and social contacts. The purpose of this cohort study was to examine whether older adults with pre-existing DYMERS had a more negative perception of their health-related quality of life (H-QoL) during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, regardless of the presence of concurrent mood disorders. Method: The entire study population (N = 93; age > 65 year) was categorized based on whether they exhibited dysregulated rhythms at the outset of the study. A comparison was made between DYMERS-positive individuals and DYMERS-negative individuals, and we assessed their H-QoL at the conclusion of the study. We also compared the H-QoL of individuals in the cohort who did not have a positive depression score to understand the impact of the rhythm dysregulation alone. Results: The frequency of individuals with a critical health-related quality of life score (SF12 < 25) was higher in the cohort with pre-existing DYMERS during lockdown (33.33% vs. 6.17%). This difference remained significant even when only individuals without depressive symptomatology were considered (27.27% vs. 2.60%). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that DYMERS can exert a substantial influence on health-related quality of life (H-QoL), even when mood disturbances are not present. Additional research is required to investigate the relationship between DYMERS and other psychiatric conditions as well as its nature as a standalone disorder. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ageing, Chronicity and End of Life Care)
12 pages, 1416 KiB  
Article
Preferred versus Actual Place of Care and Factors Associated with Home Discharge among Korean Patients with Advanced Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study
by In Young Hwang, Yohan Han, Min Sun Kim, Kyae Hyung Kim, Belong Cho, Wonho Choi, Yejin Kim, Shin Hye Yoo and Sun Young Lee
Healthcare 2023, 11(13), 1939; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11131939 - 5 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1003
Abstract
Respecting the preference for a place of care is essential for advance care planning in patients with advanced cancer. This retrospective study included adult patients with cancer referred to an inpatient palliative care consultation team at a tertiary acute care hospital in South [...] Read more.
Respecting the preference for a place of care is essential for advance care planning in patients with advanced cancer. This retrospective study included adult patients with cancer referred to an inpatient palliative care consultation team at a tertiary acute care hospital in South Korea between April 2019 and December 2020. Patients’ preference for place of care and demographic and clinical factors were recorded, and the actual discharge locations were categorized as home or non-home. Patients discharged home but with unintended hospital visits within 2 months were also investigated. Of the 891 patients referred to the palliative care consultation team, 210 (23.6%) preferred to be discharged home. Among them, 113 (53.8%) were discharged home. No significant differences were found between patients who preferred home discharge and those who did not. Home discharge was higher among female patients (p = 0.04) and lower in those with poor oral intake (p < 0.001) or dyspnea (p = 0.02). Of the 113 patients discharged home, 37 (32.8%) had unintended hospital visits within 2 months. Approximately one-quarter of hospitalized patients with advanced cancer preferred to be discharged home, but only half of them received the home discharge. To meet patients’ preferences for end-of-life care, individual care planning considering relevant factors is necessary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ageing, Chronicity and End of Life Care)
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