Catherine Sweeney

• University College Cork

Objectives This study examined the relationship between self-reported empathy and breaking bad news (BBN) communication skills performance in a sample of undergraduate medical students (n = 100) in the clinical years of their programme. Methods Correlational and regression analysis examined the relationship between Jefferson Scale of Physician Emp...

Context: Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) typically experience a gradual worsening of the illness in the years prior to death. Due to difficulties in predicting the disease trajectory or the timing of acute exacerbations, advance care planning (ACP) may be of particular importance for individuals with COPD. Objectives...

Background: Individuals with COPD typically experience a gradual deterioration in health, with exacerbations and increased health-care utilization in the years before death. As such, adequate planning of future care is necessary. The objective of this research was to identify gaps in health-care professionals' knowledge related to advance care pla...

Objectives To examine current practices, attitudes and levels of confidence related to advance care planning (ACP) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among healthcare professionals working in Ireland. This will inform future clinical guidance development. Methods A cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals. Res...

Age-related pharmacological changes complicate oral dosage form (ODF) suitability for older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the appropriateness of ODF for older adults by determining the prevalence of ODF modifications in an aged care facility in Ireland. Drug charts for eligible patients were obtained. Details of all medications a...

Palliative care is a complex area of healthcare that is best delivered by an interdisciplinary team approach. Breaking bad news is an inherent part of caring for people with life-limiting conditions. The purpose of this study was to explore an interdisciplinary breaking bad news role-play in a palliative care module. The participants were undergrad...

The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and previous training of Irish health care workers (HCWs) in palliative care in end-stage Parkinson's disease (PD). A survey was distributed to HCWs, including neurologists, geriatricians, general practitioners, nurses, and allied health professionals, in acute and community setting...

Securing a place in medical school is extremely difficult-students who are successful all have similar high levels of academic achievement. So why do some students, and not others, have difficulty with the course, and in some cases, leave the programme? Studies on medical school attrition offer valuable insight into why medical students under-perfo...

The need for undergraduate medical education in palliative care is widely recognised. An optional student-selected module 'Fundamentals of Palliative Medicine' was introduced in 2011 and offered to third-year medical students. The overall objective of the module was to develop students' knowledge, attitudes and skills in palliative care. To assess...

Healthcare worldwide needs translation of basic ideas from engineering into the clinic. Consequently, there is increasing demand for graduates equipped with the knowledge and skills to apply interdisciplinary medicine/engineering approaches to the development of novel solutions for healthcare. The literature provides little guidance regarding barri...

Learning outcomes are typically developed using standard group-based consensus methods. Two main constraints with standard techniques such as the Delphi method or expert working group processes are: (1) the ability to generate a comprehensive set of outcomes and (2) the capacity to reach agreement on them. We describe the first application of Group...

Background: Physiotherapy referral processes have not been extensively studied, and never in the long-term care (LTC) setting. In the author’s place of work, a blanket referral system for respite admissions has traditionally been used. However, the average time taken for an initial assessment is 29 minutes. Hence the aim of this study was to assess...

omorrow's doctors need to be able to manage the growing burden of nutrition-related illness. Up to 40% of hospital inpatients are malnourished( 1 )and over half the Irish population is either overweight or obese. Whilst the importance of nutrition education in the medical curriculum is widely acknowledged( 2 , 3 ), current nutrition education for m...

This paper examines discourses about medical careers through the lens of gender. The supposed feminization of medicine has prompted much professional and public discourse on the issue of gender and medical careers. Discourses centered on gender imbalance at entry to medical school are contrasted with women’s accounts of their medical careers. Data...

Although females represent a high proportion of medical graduates, women are under represented at consultant level in many hospital specialties. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were undertaken which established female representation at all levels of the medical workforce in Ireland in 2011 and documented the personal experiences of a sample o...

Background: Medical school attrition is important--securing a place in medical school is difficult and a high attrition rate can affect the academic reputation of a medical school and staff morale. More important, however, are the personal consequences of dropout for the student. The aims of our study were to examine factors associated with attrit...

Ireland has traditionally been considered a country at risk of iodine-deficiency. Iodine deficiency in pregnancy has been linked to neuro-cognitive deficits in children born to these mothers( 1 ). Recent UK research suggests that adolescent girls have sub-optimal dietary iodine intake and mild iodine deficiency( 2 ). Current population iodine statu...

This chapter discusses managing fatigue in breast cancer. Fatigue is one of the most common and troublesome problems in patients who have advanced breast cancer, and can be caused by many factors. The chapter begins with the steps to a thorough assessment of fatigue, including its causes and the assessment tools. Screening for fatigue involves an e...

Objectives: The primary objective in this study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of a two-item screening interview for depression versus the formal psychiatric interview, in the setting of a specialist palliative in-patient unit so that we may identify those individuals suffering from depressive disorder and therefore optimise their...

To characterize a new, one-stop multidisciplinary palliative care (MD) clinic which offers standardized multidisciplinary assessment, specific care recommendations, patient and family education, and on-site counseling, we retrospectively compared the assessments of 138 consecutive patients with advanced cancer referred to the MD clinic and 77 patie...

To compare the effectiveness and side effects of methadone and morphine as first-line treatment with opioids for cancer pain. Patients in international palliative care clinics with pain requiring initiation of strong opioids were randomly assigned to receive methadone (7.5 mg orally every 12 hours and 5 mg every 4 hours as needed) or morphine (15 m...

Opioids are some of the most important analgesic medications for the management of both moderate to severe pain and several are included on the World Health organization (WHO) list of essential drugs. Opioid costs in developing countries have been reported to be higher than those in developed nations. This study documents retail prices and availabi...

Context: The symptomatic benefits of oxygen in patients with cancer who have nonhypoxic dyspnea are not well defined. Objective: To determine whether or not oxygen is more effective than air in decreasing dyspnea and fatigue and increasing distance walked during a 6-minute walk test. Patients and methods: Patients with advanced cancer who had no se...

Perception of discomfort in dying patients is a risk factor for distress and bereavement among relatives. This study determined the perception of discomfort, the frequency of observed behaviors, and their association among relatives and among nurses who care for unresponsive dying patients. Sixty unresponsive dying patients' relatives and their nur...

The majority of cancer patients wish to die at home. Improved understanding of place of death and its relevant demographic predictors is important for the planning of palliative cancer care programs. The purpose of this study was to determine the place and predictors of site of death in cancer patients in a major U.S. metropolitan area. Death certi...

The purpose of this study was to determine the helpfulness of a prompt sheet versus a general information sheet for patient communication with physicians. Sixty women with breast cancer attending their first outpatient consultation with a breast medical oncologist were randomized to receive either a prompt sheet (PS) or a general information (GI) s...

The delivery of palliative care can vary greatly between countries depending on socioeconomic conditions and cultural issues. The evolution and development of palliative care varies greatly and influences the development of palliative care models. Models of palliative care in three different countries are discussed and suggestions are made for the...

To help with planning of a palliative care program, we reviewed the place of death of patients who were registered at our comprehensive cancer center and explored factors that predicted death in the hospital versus death at home. A retrospective study was undertaken of local patients who were registered at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Canc...

In recent years a better understanding of the pharmacologic and pharmacokinetic properties of methadone, including equianalgesic ratios has led to its increased use as a second line opioid for the treatment of pain in patients with cancer. Methadone may be an important alternative for those who have side effects related to the use of other opioids...

Patients who require palliative care have many physical and psychosocial needs. Their families also require care and advice. Despite recent advances in assessment and management, major issues relating to palliative care for patients and their families remain unanswered. Several challenges face researchers in this area. We discuss administrative iss...

To examine patient preferences as well as physician perceptions of these preferences for decision making and communication in palliative care. Medical decision-making preferences (DMPs) were prospectively studied in 78 assessable cancer patients after initial assessment at a palliative care outpatient clinic. DMPs were assessed with a questionnaire...

Prospective controlled clinical trials provide the highest level of evidence in palliative care. Both parallel and crossover studies have unique advantages and disadvantages. Excellent knowledge of the patient population, interventions and endpoints are useful in choosing the most appropriate trial. Open pilot studies can assist the investigator in...

Clinical trials in palliative care involve multiple issues relating to patient populations, interventions and endpoints. Careful data collection and analysis of variables are vital for good clinical research in this complex area.

Over the past 10 years, there have been major advances in the understanding of cancer cachexia and asthenia. These common complications of cancer are now thought to be the consequences of complex interactions between host, tumour, and psychosocial factors. Cachexia and asthenia commonly coexist, but they can occur independently of each other. Recen...