Screening for Intimacy Concerns in a Palliative Care Population: Findings from a Pilot Study.

MedStar author(s):
Citation: Journal of Palliative Medicine. 19(10):1102-1105, 2016 OctPMID: 27148898Institution: MedStar Washington Hospital CenterDepartment: Medicine/Palliative CareForm of publication: Journal ArticleMedline article type(s): Journal ArticleSubject headings: IN PROCESS -- NOT YET INDEXEDYear: 2016Local holdings: Available online through MWHC library: 2013 to the presentISSN:
  • 1557-7740
Name of journal: Journal of palliative medicineAbstract: BACKGROUND: Intimacy is an important component of the palliative care (PC) assessment. Evaluation of patient concerns related to intimacy should be included in a comprehensive PC consultation. The concerns are rarely assessed for hospitalized PC patients, yet there is evidence to support that patients want to talk about intimacy.CONCLUSION: Pilot data from this quality improvement (QI) project suggest a clear need for intimacy assessment in PC consultation. Intimacy is impacted by serious illness and patients/partners want to discuss issues with clinicians. PC clinicians can incorporate intimacy discussions as part of a routine assessment without adding significant amount of time.DESIGN: We designed a brief screening tool to administer to adult patients receiving PC consultation at two hospitals. The tool included demographic information, relevant medical diagnoses, two questions to help identify intimacy issues, and PC team communication to the referring medical team. Mean screening tool administration time was eight minutes.OBJECTIVE: We wanted to understand (1) if intimacy was an important issue for hospitalized PC patients; (2) how intimacy was impacted by illness; and, (3) if intimacy concerns were present, what those concerns involved.RESULTS: Although the vast majority (96%) of patients reported that they had not been asked about intimacy concerns before the PC consult, a slight majority (56.2%) reported that illness had either significantly or moderately impacted intimacy. Most (96%) found the intimacy discussion helpful and wanted to discuss these issues with medical providers. Those at end of life (EOL) (died <3 months of PC consultation) were older (M=65 years; standard deviation [SD]=9.4) than those who were not (55 years; SD=15.4; p=0.004). A majority (70.5%) at EOL indicated their illness significantly or moderately impacted their intimacy, and all reported the conversation was helpful and wanted to discuss the issue with providers.All authors: Cagle J, Groninger H, Kelemen AFiscal year: FY2017Digital Object Identifier: Date added to catalog: 2017-05-24
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Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Journal Article MedStar Authors Catalog Article 27148898 Available 27148898

Available online through MWHC library: 2013 to the present

BACKGROUND: Intimacy is an important component of the palliative care (PC) assessment. Evaluation of patient concerns related to intimacy should be included in a comprehensive PC consultation. The concerns are rarely assessed for hospitalized PC patients, yet there is evidence to support that patients want to talk about intimacy.

CONCLUSION: Pilot data from this quality improvement (QI) project suggest a clear need for intimacy assessment in PC consultation. Intimacy is impacted by serious illness and patients/partners want to discuss issues with clinicians. PC clinicians can incorporate intimacy discussions as part of a routine assessment without adding significant amount of time.

DESIGN: We designed a brief screening tool to administer to adult patients receiving PC consultation at two hospitals. The tool included demographic information, relevant medical diagnoses, two questions to help identify intimacy issues, and PC team communication to the referring medical team. Mean screening tool administration time was eight minutes.

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to understand (1) if intimacy was an important issue for hospitalized PC patients; (2) how intimacy was impacted by illness; and, (3) if intimacy concerns were present, what those concerns involved.

RESULTS: Although the vast majority (96%) of patients reported that they had not been asked about intimacy concerns before the PC consult, a slight majority (56.2%) reported that illness had either significantly or moderately impacted intimacy. Most (96%) found the intimacy discussion helpful and wanted to discuss these issues with medical providers. Those at end of life (EOL) (died <3 months of PC consultation) were older (M=65 years; standard deviation [SD]=9.4) than those who were not (55 years; SD=15.4; p=0.004). A majority (70.5%) at EOL indicated their illness significantly or moderately impacted their intimacy, and all reported the conversation was helpful and wanted to discuss the issue with providers.

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