Quality of Life for Late Life Patients: Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Whole-Person Approach for Patients With Chronic Illnesses

Abstract

Quality of life (QOL) for patients with serious illness in late life is important for patients and policy makers and has implications for improved care delivery. This mixed-methods evaluation examined the effectiveness of a new whole-person approach to late life care-the LifeCourse-which provides patients with ongoing, across-setting assistance from lay health care workers, supported by a clinical team. We investigated whether participation in LifeCourse improves QOL for intervention patients, compared with usual care controls. QOL was assessed using baseline and 6 months Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative version tool ( n = 181 patients and 126 controls). LifeCourse had a significant positive effect on overall QOL for patients when compared with controls. Interview data revealed that participants adjusted expectations when assessing QOL and actively sought out ways to maintain QOL with meaningful activities and needed services. LifeCourse offers a promising model for improving QOL for late life patients.

Community health worker interventions for older adults with complex health needs: A systematic review

“…For example, the Aging Brain Care model has shown that collaborative care incorporating lay interventionists ("care coordinator assistants") may improve clinical outcomes in older adults with dementia. 50 Our search strategy also identified several relevant studies that were excluded based on age during screening (due to participants under age 60), including the LifeCourse model, which incorporates lay "care guides" to improve quality of life in seriously ill older adults, 51 and the IMPaCT CHW model, which has demonstrated improved health outcomes in adults with multimorbidity. 22,23 Our review did include several studies with socially vulnerable participants, but this was not specified in our eligibility criteria for complexity.…”

Perspectives regarding what constitutes a “good death” among Thai nurses: A cross‐sectional study

“…This indicates that they had some understanding of palliative care, as it involves treating the patient as a whole person (Riordan, Briscoe, Kamal, Jones, & Webb, ). Furthermore, attending to end‐of‐life patients' spiritual needs could help improve their quality of life (Brady, ; Shippee et al, ). Nurses also placed importance on completing unfinished business, preparing for death, and having loved ones around when the patients needed them, which is consistent with the findings of several prior studies (Endacott et al, ; Meier et al, ; Steinhauser et al, ).…”