This webinar featured the work of 2023-2024 NCI/AcademyHealth Healthcare Delivery Research Visiting Scholar, Dr. Virginia LeBaron.
AcademyHealth and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) hosted a 1-hour webinar about the work of 2023-2024 NCI/AcademyHealth Healthcare Delivery Research Visiting Scholar, Dr. Virginia LeBaron. Dr. LeBaron presented findings from her NIH-funded study that features a descriptive and exploratory network analysis of inquiries to the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service (CIS) by patients and informal caregivers related to end-of-life care.
Learn more about the NCI/AcademyHealth Healthcare Delivery Research Visiting Scholars Program »
Patients with cancer at the end-of-life experience a multitude of physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs as they navigate treatment options and make decisions about their goals of care. Likewise, informal caregivers who support patients during this stage of illness must also navigate a complex healthcare system, often as they assume an increasing level of responsibility as a patient’s illness progresses. The National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service (CIS) is a long-standing resource that provides free and confidential information regarding cancer care across the continuum to diverse stakeholders, including patients and informal caregivers. Analysis of inquiries made to the CIS provides a unique opportunity to understand the specific types of information patients and caregivers seek related to end-of-life care and how these information needs may be related to each other. A better understanding of patient and caregiver information needs at the end-of-life is critical to inform effective healthcare delivery and tailored interventions. Dr. LeBaron’s project, in collaboration with NCI staff, included a descriptive and exploratory network analysis of inquiries to the CIS by patients and informal caregivers related to end-of-life care.
By the conclusion of this webinar, participants were able to:
Hospice: A program that delivers specialized care to people who are near the end of life and have stopped treatment to cure or control their disease. Hospice offers physical, emotional, social, and spiritual support for patients and their families. The main goal of hospice care is to control pain and other symptoms of illness so patients can be as comfortable and alert as possible. It is usually given at home, but may also be given in a hospice center, hospital, or nursing home.
Palliative Care: Holistic care given to improve the quality of life and help reduce pain in people who have a serious or life-threatening disease, such as cancer. The goal of palliative care is to prevent or treat, as early as possible, the symptoms of the disease and the side effects caused by treatment of the disease. It also attends to the psychological, social, and spiritual problems caused by the disease or its treatment. For cancer, palliative care may include therapies, such as surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy, to remove, shrink, or slow the growth of a tumor that is causing pain. It may also include family and caregiver support. Palliative care may be given with other treatments from the time of diagnosis until the end of life.
Source for glossary definitions: National Cancer Institute Dictionary of Cancer Terms
Presenter
Virginia LeBaron, Ph.D., APRN, FAAN is the Kluge-Schakat Associate Professor of Compassionate Care at the Univ... Read Bio
Opening Remarks
Dr. Sandra Mitchell is Senior Scientist and a Program Director in the Outcomes Research Branch in the Healthca... Read Bio
Moderator
As Vice President for Evidence Generation and Translation, Dr. Margo Edmunds leads AcademyHealth's portfolios ... Read Bio
Discussant
Dr. Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou a Program Director in the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch of the... Read Bio
Closing Remarks
Janet S. de Moor, PhD, MPH is the Acting Associate Director of the National Cancer Institute’s Healthcare Deli... Read Bio