Bøger af Helen Senderovich

A demência é uma doença que limita a vida e que implica um défice cognitivo e um declínio do nível de funcionamento dos doentes afectados. Mais de 55 milhões de pessoas em todo o mundo vivem com demência e prevê-se que este número aumente devido ao aumento do envelhecimento da população. Apesar da sua prevalência, a demência não faz parte do envelhecimento normal e pode ser difícil de gerir. Há necessidade de cuidados individualizados para gerir esta doença complexa. Os cuidados paliativos integrados na demência são uma abordagem multidisciplinar que pode ajudar a responder às necessidades desta população e a maximizar a qualidade de vida da população afectada. Este livro descreve os benefícios dos cuidados paliativos na demência e discute conceitos importantes que não devem ser negligenciados durante a prestação de cuidados a estes doentes, tais como o planeamento antecipado dos cuidados, a gestão da dor e dos sintomas, o prognóstico, a polifarmácia, os modelos existentes de cuidados paliativos, os desafios que os doentes e os prestadores de cuidados enfrentam durante a trajectória da doença e muito mais.

Dementia is a life-limiting illness that involves cognitive impairment and a declining level of functioning in affected patients. Over 55 million individuals worldwide live with dementia and this number is expected to rise due to increase of the aging population. Despite its prevalence, dementia is not a part of normal aging and can be challenging to manage. There is a need for individualized care to manage this complex illness. Integrated palliative care in dementia is a multidisciplinary approach that can help to address the needs of this population and maximize quality of life for the affected population. This book outlines the benefits of palliative care in dementia, and discusses important concepts not to be overlooked while caring for these patients such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, prognostication, polypharmacy, existent models of palliative care, challenges that patients and caregivers face during illness trajectory, and much more.

Congestive heart failure(CHF)is an increasingly prevalent terminal illness in aging population. 5.7 million over the age of 20 suffer from CHF, and between 2012 and 2030 this number is projected to increase by 46%. Approximately 50% of patients with CHF will eventually die within 5 years of diagnosis, and median survival after the first CHF-related hospitalization is only 2.4 years. In fact,heart disease was the second highest leading cause of death. CHF is often not acknowledged as a terminal illness until disease is very advanced. Despite optimal medical management,prognosis remains poor¿a fact seldom communicated to patients and/or their families. Evidence suggests numerous benefits of palliative care consultation in advanced CHF but to date, their services remain woefully underutilized. Symptom management at the end of life in advanced CHF tends to focus on dyspnea, pain, and fatigue¿the cumulative burden of which is equivalent or worse than in patients with cancer.The objectives of this book were to identify specific challenges to accessing and implementing palliative care in patients with advanced CHF, and to use this information to formulate recommendations for practice.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the major worldwide cause of mortality that is increasing in prevalence. COPD is incurable. Compared to patients with cancer, patients with COPD experience similar symptoms. When these patients do receive palliative care (PC), they tend to be referred later than patients with cancer. The main factors include COPD¿s illness trajectory, misperceptions about PC among patients and physicians, and lack of advance care planning (ACP) outside of crisis situations. A new paradigm for PC would introduce palliative treatments alongside disease-modifying interventions. This integrated approach would circumvent the issue of difficult prognostication in patients suffering from COPD, as any patient would receive individualized integrated palliative interventions from the time of diagnosis. This book discusses the challenges in providing PC to COPD patients, potential strategies to mitigate the challenges, management of common symptoms, and the latest evidence for integrated PC models. This book illuminates glaring issues in our healthcare system and proposes routes of action to take in order to improve the lives of patients.