School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
Palliat Med. 2013 Oct;27(9):855-60. doi: 10.1177/0269216313483846. Epub 2013 Apr 11.
Stroke is a leading cause of death; between 20% and 30% of people die within 30 days of a stroke. High-quality palliative and end-of-life care are advocated for patients not expected to recover from stroke.
To explore the perspectives of health professionals regarding the provision of palliative and end-of-life care in UK stroke units.
Qualitative focus groups and individual interviews were held with 66 health professionals working in UK specialist stroke units. Data were analysed thematically.
Three themes emerged from the data. Palliative care was recognised as an important component of stroke care; however, there was uncertainty when initiating transitions to palliative care in stroke, and issues were identified with the integration of acute stroke care and palliative care.
The findings provide encouraging evidence that palliative and end-of-life care have been adopted as key components of specialist stroke care in UK stroke units. However, many patients stand to benefit from earlier identification of palliative care need and a consideration of quality-of-life approaches during active care. Encouraging collaboration and partnership when working with specialist palliative care services would optimise palliative care service delivery and may provide patients and their families with greater opportunities for documenting and achieving preferences for care and achieving a better quality of death.
中风是导致死亡的主要原因之一；20%至 30%的中风患者在发病后 30 天内死亡。对于那些预计无法从中风恢复的患者，提倡提供高质量的姑息治疗和临终关怀。
探讨英国中风病房卫生专业人员对姑息治疗和临终关怀服务的看法。
对在英国专科中风病房工作的 66 名卫生专业人员进行了定性焦点小组和个人访谈。采用主题分析法对数据进行分析。
数据中出现了三个主题。姑息治疗被认为是中风护理的重要组成部分；然而，在中风患者向姑息治疗过渡时存在不确定性，并且在急性中风护理和姑息治疗的整合方面存在问题。
这些发现提供了令人鼓舞的证据，表明姑息治疗和临终关怀已被采纳为英国中风病房专科中风护理的关键组成部分。然而，许多患者将从更早地确定姑息治疗需求以及在积极治疗期间考虑生活质量方法中受益。鼓励与专科姑息治疗服务合作和建立伙伴关系，将优化姑息治疗服务的提供，并为患者及其家属提供更多记录和实现护理偏好以及提高死亡质量的机会。
