"A pilot study on elderly patients' end-of-life needs was performed at a Swedish geriatric palliative ward. Thirty patients (15 men and 15 women; mean age, 79 years) with a primary diagnosis of cancer and admitted for palliative care were interviewed by a nurse using semistructured interviews," investigators in Gothenburg, Sweden report (see also Palliative Care).
"The study included demographic data, physical and psychologic status, and naming and ranking of individual needs. Elimination of physical pain was ranked as the primary need of half of the patients," wrote H. Wijk and colleagues, Sahlgrenska University.
The researchers concluded: "Only when pain …
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