Description
The Hospice Companion is a guide to the processes of care during the intensive, interpersonal experiences of hospice work. This resource highlights the mission and values of modern-day hospice through the individual and combined efforts of the field's most valuable asset, the hospice professional. This easy-to-navigate clinical decision support tool for caregivers of those with life-limiting illnesses allows for personal and professional growth and a deeply gratifying sense of accomplishment as they proceed in the all-important work of caring for the dying. The fourth edition of The Hospice Companion features a thoroughly current guide to clinical processes and symptom management, providing hospice professionals with a concise summary of changes that have influenced clinical practice over the last several years.
Table of Contents
1. General ProcessesPalliative Care at the End of Life: Blending Structure and FunctionThe Interdisciplinary Team (IDT)Documentation2. Personal, Social, and Environmental ProcessesAbuse in the HomeAdvance Care Planning and Directives for Health-Care InterventionsChanges in Body Image and Loss of IndependenceChanges in Family DynamicsCompleting Worldly Business and Life ClosureControlled Substances: Misuse and AbuseCultural Differences: Respect, Understanding, and Adapting CareDenialGrief ReactionsLiving Environment, Finances, and Support SystemsBasic Home SafetySuicide: Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Coping If It Happens3. Clinical Processes and Symptom ManagementAgitation and AnxietyAir Hunger (Dyspnea)Anorexia and CachexiaBelching and Burping (Eructation)Bleeding, Draining, and Malodorous LesionsConfusion/DeliriumConstipationCoughingDepressionDiarrhea and Anorectal ProblemsDysphagia and Oropharyngeal ProblemsEdema: Peripheral Edema, Ascites, and LymphedemaFatigue, Weakness (Aesthenia), and Excessive SedationFever, Flushing, and DiaphoresisHiccups (Singultus)Imminent DeathInsomnia and Nocturnal RestlessnessNausea and VomitingPainPruritusSeizuresSkeletal Muscle and Bladder SpasmsSkin Breakdown: Prevention and TreatmentUrinary ProblemsXerostomia (Dry Mouth)4. AppendicesAppendix 1: Ketamine ProtocolAppendix 2: Clinical/Functional Assessment and StagingAppendix 3: Lidocaine Infusions for Refractory Neuropathic PainAppendix 4: Cannabis and Cannabinoids
