Assignment : Case analysis—Palliative care case study
For this assignment, you will produce a 1500 word written response to three short answer prompts. The prompts are based on a case study and highlight common considerations in palliative care. Each short answer response should refer explicitly to the case study. Your responses should be supported by credible policies, peer-reviewed academic research and/or evidenced-based journal articles.
This assignment is an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of person-centred palliative care, including:
- the role of multidisciplinary teams in the provision of care
- the use of nursing strategies to support palliative people, families, and carers in the provision of care
- ways of providing coordinated, integrated palliative care that reflects a palliative person’s wishes.
Case study: Patient and family integration
Individuals and families facing life-limiting illness require holistic and patient-centred care. This is best achieved through the collaboration of health care teams to provide palliative care.
Palliative care encompasses the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and cultural domains of patients and their caregivers.
Mrs Emma Tran, a 37-year-old female has been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. The metastases have spread to her spine and pelvis. Mrs Tran presented to the hospital outpatients pain service for severe pain to her back. She was admitted for analgesia and control of nausea and vomiting. The progression of the disease was such that treatment was no longer an option, and so symptom relief was the focus of care.
Mrs Tran‘s husband spent much of the day caring for her and their 10-year-old son. Along with physical pain it was evident Mrs Tran worried about the wellbeing of her husband and their son.
Mrs Tran plans to return home when her pain is controlled.
Short answer prompts
With the case study in mind, respond to each of the following short answer prompts. Your responses should reflect your understanding of the case study and knowledge of comprehensive, person-centred palliative care.
Prompt 1: Examine the role of the multidisciplinary team who provide palliative care for Mrs Tran whilst she is an inpatient (500 words).
Prompt 2: Evaluate two strategies to support families and carers who are providing end of life care in the community (500 words).
Prompt 3: Consider ways the multidisciplinary team provide coordinated, integrated palliative care for Mrs Tran in her home (500 words).
Each short answer response should be 500 words in length and refer explicitly to the case study.
Note: You are required to write in an academic style and answer each question separately, not as a single essay.
Research and evidence
You need to include references in this assignment to:
- support your evaluation of the case study
- provide evidence for your discussion of the short answer prompts.
The references that you use must be credible policies, peer-reviewed academic research and/or evidenced-based journal articles. You should cite your references in-text and list them at the end of your assignment using the APA7 referencing style.