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Often, individuals who have suffered from critical illnesses tend to look for external help such as palliative care to alleviate the responsibility from their families. Once released from their stay in a hospital, the patients may sometimes need additional care to be comfortable in their everyday lives. The question arises: how do doctors feel about using palliative care for patients who have survived serious illnesses?
In a recent qualitative study, Eaton (2023) and colleagues conducted semi structured interviews with 29 doctors from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, involved the Critical and Acute Illness Recovery Organization. The goal was to better understand doctors’ opinions and their experiences towards post-ICU palliative care and to learn in which ways this improved or worsened the care process.
These interviews revealed that all physicians agreed that certain aspects of palliative care are helpful in treating survivors of serious illnesses. These can include problems such as pain management, which helps to support both the family and the patient themselves. Some advantages of these treatments were also seen in making sure the medical care matched the patient’s wishes, giving guidance about what might happen in the future and talking about the patient’s future healthcare choices. The doctors shared that managing symptoms like pain or other physical and emotional challenges had an impact not only in supporting the patient through these hard times, but also on their families.
Another important note the doctors discussed was making sure the care provided corresponds to what the patient values, needs, and desires. According to them, this will help create a more caring environment which can help promote improvement. They believe that addressing the patient’s future healthcare choices early on, can help with this. These conversations will help empower the patient to give their opinion and ensure that healthcare aligns with their values and their preferences.
During this process, doctors noted that it is also important to be realistic and provide guidance for what might happen in the future. They explained that being honest and talking about uncertainties can help the patient to make informed decisions and to mentally prepare for all possible challenges.
Spiritual support was also mentioned as a crucial part of palliative care, recognizing that the way patients cope with being sick may change depending on their beliefs and spirituality. The aspect is essential in order to ensure complete holistic care.
While all doctors agreed on the importance of palliative care, the study also demonstrated some challenges of offering these kinds of treatments. Some problems included not having enough resources, not having enough time and not having enough trained staff. The doctors shared that hospitals and healthcare systems would need to support them, provide education and change the overall culture of healthcare in order to overcome these challenges and form a connection between surviving a serious illness and receiving palliative care.
In conclusion, this study demonstrates that palliative care is a crucial element for patients having survived serious illnesses. Understanding the effects of palliative care can possibly help hospitals improve the care they give to patients and their families after a serious illness.
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Source: Eaton, T. L., Lincoln, T. E., Lewis, A., Davis, B. C., Sevin, C. M., Valley, T. S., … & Scheunemann, L. P. (2023). Palliative Care in Survivors of Critical Illness: A Qualitative Study of Post-Intensive Care Unit Program Clinicians. Journal of palliative medicine.
