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J Addington-Hall

Publications and source records attributed to J Addington-Hall.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Can national surveys be funded successfully from local NHS resources? Evidence from the Regional Study of Care for the Dying.

In the current economic climate, obtaining funding for large-scale national health services research surveys can be very difficult. In this paper we describe how the funding for a national survey, in which a random sample of 3696 bereaved relatives were interviewed, was obtained through collaboration with health regions and districts, and we consider the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. Although researchers considering using joint funding with the NHS may have to make compromises between ideal study design and what is feasible given local needs and the geographical spread of participating districts or NHS units, we conclude that collaboration can benefit both parties.

Bereavement↗
PubMed1995

Symptom control, communication with health professionals, and hospital care of stroke patients in the last year of life as reported by surviving family, friends, and officials.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The needs of and appropriate service provision for patients dying from stroke have received little attention. The quality of care in the last year of life received by a population-based sample of stroke patients is described here, focusing on symptom control, communication with health professionals, and hospital care. METHODS: Secondary analysis was made of data from the Regional Study of Care for the Dying, a retrospective interview survey in 20 nationally representative English health districts. Subjects were 237 persons who died from stroke in 1990. Of informants, 20% were spouses, 48% relatives, 11% friends or neighbors, and 20% officials. RESULTS: More than half the patients were reported to have experienced pain (65%), mental confusion (51%), low mood (57%), and urinary incontinence (56%) in the last year of life. Pain control was inadequate: 51% of those treated for pain by hospital doctors and 45% of those treated by general practitioners were reported to have received treatment that relieved pain partially if at all. One third of respondents thought that hospital doctors had been too rushed (37%), and 25% thought that the patient had had insufficient choice about treatment. Two fifths had been unable to get all the information they had wanted about the patient's condition. CONCLUSIONS: Improvements in symptom control and psychosocial support for patients who die from stroke are needed, as is better communication between health professionals and patients and their families. Education of doctors and nurses working with stroke patients in the principles of palliative care may help ensure that all dying stroke patients receive high-quality care.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Regional Study of Care for the Dying: methods and sample characteristics.

The Regional Study of Care for the Dying (RSCD) was established in 1990 with the dual aims of providing district health authorities with an audit of local services for the dying, and of addressing questions about experiences of people dying from cancer, effectiveness of hospice care, and needs of and appropriate service provision for people dying from causes other than cancer. The survey methods are described in this paper, together with the characteristics and representativeness of the sample. An interview survey was conducted of family or others who knew about the last year of life of a random sample of people who died in 1990. It was based upon methods used in nationally representative surveys by Cartwright in 1969, and Cartwright and Seale in 1987. The setting was 20 district health authorities, who paid for local data collection. Approximately 270 deaths were randomly sampled in each district: 5375 deaths were sampled in total. As cancer patients are the focus of most services for the dying, cancer deaths were sampled disproportionately (54%). Interviews were obtained for 69% (3696) of the sample. The response rate varied significantly by cause of death, age and social class of decreased, and the degree of deprivation of the district. There were small, but statistically significant, differences in cause of death and age between those deaths for whom interviews were obtained and national figures for deaths occurring in 1990. The discussion addresses key issues in the study, including responses from ethical committees, response rate and quality of data.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Dying from cancer: results of a national population-based investigation.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the quality of care received in the last year of life by people who die from cancer, focusing particularly on symptom control, communication with health professionals, and care in the community. DESIGN: Interview survey of family members or others who knew about the last year of life of a random sample of people who died in the UK in 1990, based upon methods used in nationally representative surveys by Cartwright in 1969, and Cartwright and Seale in 1987. SETTING: Twenty district health authorities from a range of inner city, outer urban and rural settings. Although self-selected, districts were nationally representative in terms of social characteristics and on many indicators of health service provision and usage. PARTICIPANTS: Interviews were obtained for 2074 cancer deaths out of a random sample of 2915, a 71% response rate. MAIN RESULTS: At some stage in the last year of life, 88% were reported to have been in pain, 66% were said to have found it to be 'very distressing', and 61% to have experienced it in their last week. Treatment that only partially controlled the pain, if at all, was said to have been received by 47% of those treated for pain by their GPs and by 35% of hospital patients. Other common symptoms experienced by more than half the sample in their last year were loss of appetite, constipation, dry mouth or thirst, vomiting or nausea, breathlessness, low mood, and sleeplessness. Half of the respondents (51%) were unable to get all the information they wanted about the patient's medical condition when they wanted it. Relatives bore the brunt of caring for 81% of the sample. Of respondents who had helped to care for the deceased, 65% said that their activities had been at least fairly restricted, but 53% had found it rewarding. District nurses had helped 60% of the deceased, 20% had had a home help, and 9% had received 'meals on wheels'. More help with activities of daily living was reported to have been needed by 31%; 24% were reported to have needed more help with domestic chores; 25% were reported to have needed more financial help, and 29% were reported to have needed either more care from district nurses (if had some) or some care (if had none). CONCLUSION: There is still some way to go before all dying cancer patients receive high quality care. Education in the principles of palliative care is needed at all levels of the NHS if high standards are to be reached. In addition, adequate resources are required to meet the social and health care needs of cancer patients at home. There is, as yet, no room for complacency about the care of dying cancer patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Euthanasia: why people want to die earlier.

The results from two surveys in England of relatives and others who knew people in samples drawn from death certificates are reported. The main focus is on a sample of 3696 people dying in 1990 in 20 health authorities, with supporting analysis from an earlier national sample of 639 people dying in 1987. The incidence of people saying they wanted to die sooner, and of requests for euthanasia are reported. Excluding a proportion who did not wish to express a view, or did not know the answer, about a quarter of both respondents and the people who died expressed the view that an earlier death would be, or would have been, preferable. 3.6% of people in the 1990 study were said to have asked for euthanasia at some point in the last year of life. The extent to which such views were determined by the experience of pain, other distressing symptoms, dependency and social and cultural factors such as religious belief and social class is explored. The finding that dependency was important in causing the feeling that an earlier death would have been better, as well as requests for euthanasia, is related to the public debate about euthanasia, which often contains the assertion that fear of pain is a dominant factor. Pain was found to be a significant factor in death from cancer, but not as important for other causes of death. Social class, place of residence of the deceased, and strength and type of religious faith were found to be largely insignificant in influencing feelings about an earlier death and requests for euthanasia.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1994

Telephone versus postal surveys of general practitioners: methodological considerations.

BACKGROUND: High response rates to surveys help to maintain the representativeness of the sample. AIM: In the course of a wider investigation into counselling services within general practice it was decided to assess the feasibility of increasing the response rate by telephone follow up of non-respondents to a postal survey. METHOD: A postal survey was undertaken of a random sample of 1732 general practitioners followed by telephone administration of the questionnaire to non-respondents. The identical questionnaire was administered by telephone to a separate random sample of 206 general practitioners. RESULTS: Of 1732 general practitioners first approached by mail, 1683 were still in post of whom 881 (52%) completed the postal questionnaire and a further 494 (29%) the telephone interview. Of 206 general practitioners first contacted by telephone, 197 were still in post of whom 167 (85%) completed interviews. Compared with doctors first approached by mail, those first approached by telephone were significantly more likely to report having a partner with a special interest in psychiatry (P < 0.01); and a general practitioner, practice nurse or health visitor who worked as a counsellor (P < 0.01 in each case). A comparison of doctors first approached by telephone with those who completed telephone interviews after failing to respond to the postal questionnaire showed that postal non-respondents were significantly less likely to report having a general practitioner, practice nurse, health visitor or community psychiatric nurse who worked as a counsellor (P < 0.01 in each case). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that non-response to the postal survey was associated with lack of activity in the study area. Telephone administration of questionnaires to postal non-respondents increased response rates to above 80% but, as telephone administration enhanced the reporting of counsellors, a social desirability bias may have been introduced.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1993

Distribution of mental health professionals working on site in English and Welsh general practices.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the nature and distribution of mental health professionals working on site in general practices. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire and telephone interview survey. SETTING: English and Welsh general practices. SUBJECTS: 1880 general practitioners, of whom 1542 (82%) responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence, types, and distribution of mental health professionals working on site among general practices. Factors predicting the presence of mental health professionals on site. RESULTS: The number of practices reporting the presence on site of each type of professional were 528 for community psychiatric nurses; 266 for practice counsellors; 177 for clinical psychologists; 132 for psychiatrists; 96 for psychiatric social workers; and 45 for psychotherapists. Mental health professionals tended to cluster together in practices more often than expected by chance alone. Practice characteristics which independently predicted the presence of a mental health professional on site were having four or more partners; being a training practice; and running stress, bereavement, or other mental health clinics. The proportions of practices with mental health professionals on site varied significantly among health regions. There was no association between the presence of mental health professionals on site and the location of practices, the social class mix of patients, or the estimated percentage of elderly patients or patients of non-European origin. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health professionals tend to cluster together, with a preponderance in larger training practices. Specialist mental health care provision within general practices is unevenly distributed. Further research is needed to determine whether this uneven distribution reflects differences in need or inequalities in the provision of mental health services.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1993

Counsellors in English and Welsh general practices: their nature and distribution.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of counselling services in English and Welsh general practices and factors associated with their distribution; to describe qualifications, working arrangements, and case mix of "counsellors." DESIGN: Postal questionnaire and telephone interview survey of a sample of about one in 20 general practitioners in England and Wales. SETTING: English and Welsh general practices. SUBJECTS: 1880 general practitioners of whom 1542 (82%) completed questionnaires. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence and distribution of practice counselling services; counsellors' qualifications and funding; types of patients referred. RESULTS: 586 counsellors were distributed among 484 of the 1542 practices. Three types of counsellor predominated: community psychiatric nurses (187); "practice counsellors" (145); and clinical psychologists (95). Practice characteristics which independently predicted the presence of a counsellor were for community psychiatric nurses four or more partners (odds = 1.72, 95% confidence interval 1.18 to 2.26); for practice counsellors stress clinic (odds = 2.22; 1.83 to 2.61), training practice (odds = 1.70; 1.24 to 2.16), and health region (chi 2 = 55.94; df = 14; p < 0.001); and for clinical psychologists list size of > or = 10,500 (odds = 1.79; 1.09 to 2.49), training practice (odds = 1.78; 1.31 to 2.25), health region (chi 2 = 48.31; df = 14; p < 0.001). 197 counsellors had training in counselling. The qualifications of 85 were unknown to the general practitioner. The principal source of funding was the district health authority for community psychiatric nurses (150) and clinical psychologists (58) and the family health services authority for practice counsellors (76). All counsellors were referred a wide range of problems. CONCLUSIONS: Counselling services are wide-spread in general practice, but a high proportion of counsellors lack qualifications, and many may be referred problems outside their knowledge.

Counseling↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Quality of life at the end of life. Analysis of the quality of life of oncologic patients treated with palliative care. Results of a multicenter observational study (staging)].

Outcome in palliative care can be defined as patients' quality of life, quality of death and satisfaction with care. In an Italian multicentre prospectic study ('Staging') the quality of life of 571 palliative care patients with advanced cancer disease was assessed since the beginning of palliative care till the end of the study. We analyzed the tissue of quality of life missing data and the possibility to input the missing quality of life evaluation through the quality of life evaluation made by a proxy (doctor, nurse). The greatest functional impairment and an increasing level of some symptoms (fatigue, general malaise, emotional status) were observed during the last two weeks of life, whereas for other symptoms (gastro-intestinal, pain) some degree of control was possible. The quality of life analysis for palliative care patients should consider the different response of different quality of life components to the palliative care intervention.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The end results.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dying from heart disease.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the symptoms experienced in the last year of life by people with heart disease, their relation to quality of life, and informal carers' satisfaction with hospital services. METHODS: Interview survey of informal carers of 600 patients aged 15 and over, approximately ten months after their death from heart disease in 1990 in 20 English health districts. The districts, while self-selected, were nationally representative in social characteristics and indicators of health service provision and use. RESULTS: Pain, dyspnoea and low mood were reported to have been experienced by more than half the patients in their last year of life. Anxiety, constipation, nausea/vomiting, urinary incontinence and faecal incontinence, although not suffered by the majority of patients, also caused much distress. Hospital symptom control was reported to be limited: little or no symptom relief was reported for 35% patients with pain, 31% with constipation, 24% with dyspnoea and 24% with nausea/vomiting. Nevertheless, high levels of satisfaction with hospital staff were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Patients dying from heart disease experience a wide range of symptoms, which are frequently distressing, and often last for more than six months. There is room for an improvement in palliative care for patients with heart disease in hospital.

Adolescent↗