Health Equity in Palliative Care

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 January 2025) | Viewed by 1298

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Nursing, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Interests: hospice and palliative care; dyspnea and lung disease

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Nursing, Boise State University, 1910 W University Drive, Boise, ID 83725, USA
Interests: qualitative interventions to improve communication surrounding hospice and palliative care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

While health equity has become a priority for public health agencies, health disparities remain. Many public health agencies have an increased focus on increasing awareness of how social determinants of health, systemic racism, biases, and other social factors have a multifaceted impact on minoritized patients’ well-being, yet minoritized patients continue to receive inequitable care.

Palliative care, focusing on providing relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious illness and on improving quality of life, is not immune from health disparities. There are notable disparities in the accessing of and engagement with palliative care in minoritized populations. Moreover, when it comes to the delivery of holistic palliative care, there is increasing evidence of systematic and structural disparities contributing to negative outcomes for minorities. Therefore, it is critical to identify methods with which to provide equitable care and identify areas where progress can be made.

This Special Issue aims to publish original studies with which to increase awareness of health inequity and palliative care and to provide resources for the interdisciplinary healthcare workforce to mitigate health inequity. Many areas of research concerning health inequity and palliative care are in their infancy, so we will be accepting methods papers, qualitative research, mixed methods, reviews, and experimental studies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Lynn F. Reinke
Guest Editor

Dr. Katherine Doyon
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • hospice
  • palliative care
  • serious illness
  • health equity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 932 KiB  
Article
Development of Communication Skills Training for Oncology Clinicians to Promote Inclusion of the Family Members of LGBTQ+ People with Cancer
by William E. Rosa, Amanda Kastrinos, Smita C. Banerjee, Kimberly Acquaviva, Koshy Alexander, Meghan McDarby, Mia Behrens and Patricia A. Parker
Healthcare 2024, 12(24), 2557; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12242557 - 19 Dec 2024
Viewed by 899
Abstract
Background: LGBTQ+ persons with cancer and their families consistently face discriminatory care. In addition, clinicians report inadequate population-specific knowledge and communication skills to effectively promote LGBTQ+ inclusion. To fill this gap, we designed a communication skills training based on extant literature; multidisciplinary perspectives; [...] Read more.
Background: LGBTQ+ persons with cancer and their families consistently face discriminatory care. In addition, clinicians report inadequate population-specific knowledge and communication skills to effectively promote LGBTQ+ inclusion. To fill this gap, we designed a communication skills training based on extant literature; multidisciplinary perspectives; and patient, family, and clinician expert engagement. Methods: Training content comprised didactic information, including exemplar videos of communication strategies, and experiential learning roleplay opportunities with standardized patient and family member actors. Two training sessions were conducted virtually with invited multidisciplinary clinicians using convenience sampling. Each training was followed by a one-hour, semi-structured focus group to solicit feedback on participants’ experiences and recommendations for improvement. Focus group transcripts were thematically analyzed using a constant comparative approach. Results: Two major themes were identified: key takeaways from the training and recommendations for improvement. Participants reported favorable learning experiences and believed the training would have a positive influence on future clinical interactions. We synthesized recommendations into five discrete pieces of feedback related to (1) the advanced level of training material; (2) diversity throughout the training; (3) complexity of family dynamics; and (4) recovery from communication mistakes; and (5) additional topics for future training. Based on feedback, corresponding changes for each item and a refined communication skills blueprint are provided. Conclusions: Our innovative training on inclusive cancer care for LGBTQ+ patients’ families will provide both knowledge-based and experiential learning opportunities to advance clinicians’ confidence in communicating empathically with members of diverse sexual orientation and gender identities. The training is poised for feasibility and efficacy testing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Equity in Palliative Care)
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