A Point Prevalence Study of the Provision of Palliative Care for Adult Inpatients With Mental Health Issues.
Janie Brown, Dipna Martin-Robins, Alannah Cooper
PMID 41869714WHAT IT FOUND
Most adult mental health inpatients identified as potentially benefiting from palliative care had no evidence of referral or care provision.
Older adult wards contained most of the patients with potential palliative care needs.
Key findings
01Of the 192 mental health inpatient records reviewed, 61 had a documented life-limiting condition.
02Eighteen patients with a listed condition, 30% of that group, were assessed as potentially able to benefit from palliative care.
03Only one of those patients was receiving palliative care, and 94% had no evidence of referral or care provision.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study covered a point in time at hospitals in a metropolitan area, so the estimate may not apply elsewhere. The data came from medical records that may have been incomplete when screened. The study used recorded clinical indicators to identify potential palliative care need, not patient or family reports. The authors found no other published prevalence studies in this population for comparison.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that all mental health inpatients with a life-limiting condition should be referred to specialist palliative care. The study only identified a subset assessed as potentially benefiting, and it did not test whether referral improves outcomes.