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Resources by Topic: Informal caregivers

Using Telehealth to Improve Home-Based Care for Older Adults and Family Caregivers
Describes consumer perspectives and policy concerns with telehealth. Includes examples of home telehealth strategies, potential benefits and challenges, and discussion of home telehealth coverage in federal and state programs, including the Veterans Health Administration, Medicaid, and Medicare.
Author(s): Winifred V. Quinn, Ellen O'Brien, Gregg Springan
Date: 05/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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Developing a "Toolkit" to Measure Implementation of Concurrent Palliative Care in Rural Community Cancer Centers
Reports on the implementation of an early palliative care telehealth model identified as ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends) for patients with recently diagnosed cancer and their caregivers in 4 rural cancer centers. Describes the measures used to determine early palliative care implementation and their development and testing, and the challenges and lessons learned in the implementation process.
Author(s): Lisa Zubkoff, J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Maria Pisu, et al.
Citation: Palliative & Supportive Care, 16(1), 60-72
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
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Engaging Patients and Families to Create a Feasible Clinical Trial Integrating Palliative and Heart Failure Care: Results of the Enable CHF-PC Pilot Clinical Trial
Presents the results of a study to determine the feasibility and site differences in an early palliative care (EPC) trial, the ENABLE CHF-PC (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends Comprehensive Heartcare for Patients and Caregivers). Participants were from rural and underserved areas with diverse socioeconomic and racial backgrounds. Sixty-one patients with advance heart failure and 48 caregivers participated in the program.
Author(s): Marie Bakitas, J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Salpy V. Pamboukian, et al.
Citation: BMC Palliative Care, 16(1), 45
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
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Care Coordination for Community Transitions for Individuals Post-Stroke Returning to Low-Resource Rural Communities
Assesses the Kentucky Care Coordination for Community Transitions (KC3T) program of employing a specially trained community health worker (CHW) as a navigator to aid in the transition of individuals who have had a stroke from acute in-patient care to their rural community. The goal of the study was to determine the community navigation and resources required by people who have had a stroke in order to transition back to rural communities with few resources and to facilitate positive health outcomes.
Author(s): Patrick Kitzman, Keisha Hudson, Violet Sylvia, Johnnie Lovins
Citation: Journal of Community Health, 42(3), 565-572
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
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Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: Interdisciplinary Clinical Video - Telehealth for Geriatrics and Dementia
Highlights the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary telehealth program designed to help caregivers provide coordinated care for aging rural veterans suffering from dementia. Discusses the interdisciplinary team model comprised of social workers, geriatricians, primary care providers, and rural caregivers coordinating to maintain a uniform level of care. Includes outcomes regarding the increase of access to education and caregiver support, as well as the ability of providers to prescribe medication to rural patients.
Additional links: Overview
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Systematic Review of Palliative Care in the Rural Setting
Synthesizes the results of an extensive search of the medical literature focused on the developments in palliative care for patients living in rural areas in the U.S. and internationally to determine where gaps in the research may occur. Suggests promising approaches including telehealth, community-academic partnerships, and training for rural healthcare providers.
Author(s): Marie A. Bakitas, Ronit Elk, Meka Astin, et al.
Citation: Cancer Control, 22(4), 450-464
Date: 10/2015
Type: Document
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Benefits of Early Versus Delayed Palliative Care to Informal Family Caregivers of Patients With Advanced Cancer: Outcomes From the ENABLE III Randomized Controlled Trial
Examines the effects of introducing early palliative care intervention in rural settings for family caregivers (CGs) of patients with advanced-stage cancer by comparing the ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise Before Life Ends) model of early palliative care with the customary cancer care. Addresses the CGs needs and how meeting these needs would support problem solving, decision making, and advance care planning.
Author(s): J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Andres Azuero, Kathleen D. Lyons, et al.
Citation: Journal of Clinical Oncology, 33(13), 1446-1452
Date: 05/2015
Type: Document
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Early Versus Delayed Initiation of Concurrent Palliative Oncology Care: Patient Outcomes in the ENABLE III Randomized Controlled Trial
Examines the effects of early versus delayed palliative care, the ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends) model. ENABLE has shown to be an effective telehealth model particularly for patients with advanced stages of cancer and family caregivers in rural areas. Patient outcomes reported focused on quality of life, symptoms, temperament, survival rate, and hospital and clinical care use.
Author(s): Marie A. Bakitas, Tor D. Tosteson, Zhigang Li, et al.
Citation: Journal of Clinical Oncology, 33(13), 1438-1445
Date: 05/2015
Type: Document
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Translating and Testing the ENABLE: CHF-PC Concurrent Palliative Care Model for Older Adults with Heart Failure and Their Family Caregivers
Reports on an evaluation study to determine the feasibility and satisfaction of converting a cancer-focused concurrent palliative care (PC) intervention into early PC for rural patients with a diagnosis of heart failure.
Author(s): J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Alan Kono, Jennifer Frost, et al.
Citation: Journal of Palliative Medicine, 17(9), 995-1004
Date: 09/2014
Type: Document
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Respite for Rural Family Caregivers: Overcoming the Challenges
Discusses care recipients and their caregivers who live in rural and frontier areas. Offers suggestions to assist family caregivers, respite providers and administrators, and Lifespan Respite grantees in finding or developing respite resources.
Date: 10/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center
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