Abstract
There is an ongoing effort to improve pain management and end-of-life (EOL) care. The investigators of the four research articles presented below address these clinical issues from a variety of perspectives. The first article describes a medication strategy for providing assistance to those who have the dual concern of depression and pain. The second write-up profiles current knowledge, attitudes, and areas needing improvement of nurses providing opioid titration for patients at the EOL. The third article discusses obstacles that oncology nurses report in providing EOL care along with factors that they consider supportive. The last review provides information on a group intervention designed to support family caregivers who are providing care to those at the EOL. Together, these reviews touch on the complex interrelationship among patients, caregivers/families, and healthcare teams at medically complex, critical care times. The articles highlight challenging issues for care management and provide strategies that can be evaluated for use in the home care environment. Interested readers are encouraged to read the articles for full information about the interventions and findings.