Talking to patients with chronic and serious illnesses about their life goals and bucket-lists can help clinicians present treatment options and participate in informed decision-making with a clearer understanding of the potential impact of medical treatments.
The value of these conversations in palliative care are presented in the article entitled “Common Items on a Bucket List,” published in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
The article is available free on the Journal of Palliative Medicine website until March 8, 2018.
VJ Periyakoil, MD, Eric Neri, and Helena Kraemer, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine and VA Palo Alto Health Care System, CA identified common bucket-list themes among study participants from across the U.S.
These included the desire to travel, accomplish a personal goal, achieve specific life milestones, and spend quality time with friends and family.
The researchers proposed that knowledge of a patient’s bucket list can serve as a roadmap to help guide them in providing personalized, preference-sensitive care.
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“This is such a clever study. It scientifically studies critical conversations from a fresh perspective using contemporary concepts and commonly understood metaphors,” says Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Palliative Medicine and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Hospice and Palliative Medicine for the OhioHealth system.
About the Journal of Palliative Medicine
Journal of Palliative Medicine, the official journal of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM), Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (CSPCP), Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN), and an official journal Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) and the Japanese Society for Palliative Medicine (JSPM), is an interdisciplinary journal published monthly in print and online that reports on the clinical, educational, legal, and ethical aspects of care for seriously ill and dying patients. The Journal includes coverage of the latest developments in drug and non-drug treatments for patients with life-threatening diseases including cancer, AIDS, cardiac disease, pulmonary, neurological, and respiratory conditions, and other diseases. The Journal reports on the development of palliative care programs around the United States and the world and on innovations in palliative care education.
Sources: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News; EurekAlert!, the online, global news service operated by AAAS, the science society.
Journal: Journal of Palliative Medicine
