Team approaches in palliative care: a review of the literature

Abstract

Background: Interdisciplinary team involvement is commonplace in many palliative care settings across the world. Teamwork is perceived by many experts as an indispensable functionality of palliative care teams. Significantly different structural and functional attributes of these teams between regional and organisational contexts could potentially act both as strengths and weaknesses towards their overall productivity. The sustainability and resilience of the team also has an indirect bearing on the team functioning. Aim: This article describes international evidence on dynamic palliative care teams with a view of how and when they function efficiently or adversely. Emphasis is also placed on studies that suggest means to mitigate the conflicts and limitations of teamwork in palliative care and related healthcare settings. Findings: Evidence strongly suggests that palliative care is best delivered through a multidisciplinary team approach. Conclusion: The overall performance of a healthcare team is largely determined by the supportive work environment built through effective communication, leadership skills and mutual respect.

Nursing education on palliative care across Europe: Results and recommendations from the EAPC Taskforce on preparation for practice in palliative care nursing across the EU based on an online-survey and country reports

“…4,7–10 It requires the establishment of a dynamic caring relationship with the patient and family to reduce suffering, and also among nurses themselves and the multi-professional healthcare team. 11–21…”

“…4,[7][8][9][10] It requires the establishment of a dynamic caring relationship with the patient and family to reduce suffering, and also among nurses themselves and the multi-professional healthcare team. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Although nursing and palliative care share common roots, goals, and values, to advance palliative care nursing practice, it is essential to discern the unique contribution of nursing to the field of palliative care. The goal of palliative care is to prevent and relieve suffering, and to support the best possible quality of life for patients and their families, regardless of the stage of the disease or the need for other therapies.…”

Prognostic decision-making about imminent death within multidisciplinary teams: a scoping review

“…As guidelines by the European Association for Palliative Care state: ‘…the complexity of specialist palliative care can only be met by continuous communication and collaboration between the different professions and disciplines in order to provide physical, psychological, social and spiritual support’ (Radbruch and Payne, p. 284) 19. Integrating the spectrum of expertise of different individuals into the palliative care plan increases the likelihood that patients are managed in a holistic manner, and it is each professional’s individual expertise that together enables the broad spectrum of patient welfare 79. Future research should therefore aim to explore in more detail what role allied and other types of healthcare professionals can have in the decision-making process.…”

Palliative care practice and moral distress during COVID-19 pandemic (PEOpLE-C19 study): a national, cross-sectional study in intensive care units in the Czech Republic

“…Principles of palliative care and EOL care are based on a consensus of many professional societies and supported by local recommendations and guidelines [ 12 – 14 ]. This standard for palliative care was severely challenged during the pandemic, through public policy restrictive measures separating families from patients by restricting visiting hours due to highly contagious disease with considerable mortality [ 15 – 18 ].…”