bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Palliative Social Work in the Emergency Department
Authors: Lawson Robin Rudy , Genovesi Maya 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Patients with serious illness and their families go to the emergency department (ED) for acute crises with symptom management, caregiver distress, or for management of end-of-life issues. Unmet palliative care needs in the ED include clarification of advance directives, goals-of-care discussions, symptom management, and engaging with families and patients who may die in the ED. Many factors in the emergency department can influence the occurrence and success of these conversations, including provider comfort in having these conversations, availability of social work and palliative care resources, as well as the physical environment of the ED. Social workers within the context of the emergency department are uniquely positioned to build rapport and have advance care planning discussions with seriously ill patients who may also experience mental illness, substance abuse, and homelessness, and may be unlikely to access care in outpatient settings. For our most vulnerable patients, the ability of a social worker to build rapport across multiple ED visits and to outreach community partners, can improve patient autonomy and inform future treatment decisions. Both ED and palliative social workers can improve the care that seriously ill patients receive in the ED by identifying unmet palliative care needs and providing primary and specialist palliative care interventions.
Surviving the Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Laing Nina , Lewis Anna 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
As medical technology becomes more accessible and complex, survival from critical illness is not uncommon, and programs are evolving to meet the post–intensive care unit (ICU) needs of patients and families. Survivors of critical illness are often faced with a constellation of new or worsening physical, psychological, and cognitive disabilities known as postintensive care syndrome (PICS). Family members are also susceptible to mental health concerns as a direct result of their family member’s critical illness and ICU admission. Palliative social workers have expertise in comprehensive assessment, systems analysis, collaborative communication, supportive care, and a range of intervention techniques which inform quality care for patients and their families in the ICU, through discharge or death and, for some, posthospitalization visits to a critical illness recovery center.
Palliative Care in the Perinatal and Neonatal Setting
Authors: Leimena Meagan Lyon , Rusch Rachel 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Palliative care in the perinatal and neonatal setting brings unique considerations for social workers and interdisciplinary teams. Discussions during pregnancy or following the birth of a child explore a variety of interventions, ranging from comfort-focused treatment to life-prolonging medical care provided with the concurrent intention to make meaning, build legacy, and support family values and priorities. There are myriad opportunities for joining with families to co-construct meaning, accompany them, and advocate for them and their children during some of the most tender and intense times of their family trajectory. Attunement to family systems, culture, race and ethnicity, spiritual and religious beliefs, community support, language, and continual advancements in medical care creates opportunity for comprehensive palliative care support throughout a child’s life or into bereavement.
Palliative and Hospice Care for Incarcerated Persons
Authors: Supiano Katherine P. , Boudreaux Jamey 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The United States (US) correctional system has experienced an exponential rise in the number of aging and chronically ill incarcerated persons, many of whom will die while incarcerated. This changing demographic necessitates the implementation of evidence-based, interdisciplinary hospice and palliative care within corrections facilities. Social workers practicing in prisons must be knowledgeable about palliative care philosophy and practices and skilled in delivering palliative care within the institutional policies and culture of corrections. This requires the balancing of the corrections goal of maintaining public safety with the provision of humane person-centered care. Effective and compassionate end-of-life care in correctional facilities is congruent with social work values, and it may be transformative for hospice inmate patients, hospice inmate volunteers, corrections staff, and criminal justice institutions.
Palliative Care in Long-Term Care Facilities
Authors: Bern-Klug Mercedes , Carter Kara A. , Simons Kelsey 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The provision of palliative care in nursing homes is consistent with aims to improve residents’ quality of life, in part by making the setting more person-centered. After discussing long-term care and more specifically nursing home care in the United States, this chapter describes the important role nursing home social workers play in anticipating, assessing, and addressing the palliative care concerns of residents, including social work involvement in palliative psychosocial assessment, care planning, group work, and upholding of resident rights. National Association of Social Workers (NASW) standards for the provision of social work services in long-term care settings are discussed as well as more recent work to articulate social work competencies in this area. The chapter concludes with a call to focus on palliative care in nursing homes as a way to improve the quality of life for all residents.
Palliative Social Work in Rural Communities
Authors: Washington Karla T. , Lero Christine M. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Palliative social work in rural communities supports seriously ill patients and their families in the places they call home, from remote rural Alaskan fishing villages to small Appalachian mountain towns and countless locations in between. Social work’s person-in-environment perspective provides a useful lens for understanding the biopsychosocial and spiritual realities of living with serious illness and enables an in-depth understanding of how those realities are shaped by rural ways of life. Providing access to high-quality palliative care in rural communities remains a pressing challenge for social workers, as does ensuring that care is responsive to the unique values, preferences, and experiences of rural patients and their families. Social work leadership is needed across the full practice continuum in rural palliative care as social workers harness community strengths to provide patient- and family-centered care.
Palliative Social Work
Authors: Hunt Jennifer , Maasdorp Valerie 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Africa comprises 54 diverse countries with multiple cultures, tribes, races, and faith systems representing approximately 15% of the world’s population. Palliative care was introduced in 1979 in Zimbabwe and has expanded rapidly across the continent. Specific issues facing Africa, such as poverty, political and economic instability, the interface of traditional/Western medicine approaches, and a wide array of religious/spiritual belief systems, result in widely diverse evolutions of palliative care services. Although there is still limited development, there has been a significant increase in the number of hospice and palliative care services in several countries.
Culture-Sensitive Palliative Social Work with Chinese Populations
Authors: Cheng Ming Ming , Chan Cecilia Lai Wan 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Chinese people are typically family oriented with strong intergenerational obligations and often regard discussion of death as a taboo. Palliative social workers carefully assess the needs of patients as well as those of the extended family network in situations of critical and serious illness. It is important for social workers to be sensitive to the Chinese cultural norms and expectations in order to effectively foster communication related to the evolution of serious illness and advance care planning among patients and family members. This chapter introduces a palliative social work intervention (LET Go) framework: Living fully despite illness, Empowering family, Transforming loss, so that patient can Go in peace. The LET Go framework focuses on person-centered holistic care that stress capacity building for the patient and family.
Palliative Social Work in Switzerland
Authors: Berthod Marc-Antoine , Probst-Barroso Laetitia 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Palliative care has gained strength and recognition in Switzerland in the past decade. Within a well-organized and effective health system, improvements have been made to facilitate access to palliative care for specific groups (migrant communities, persons with disabilities, children and youth). While social workers are contributing to these improvements, they still lack specialized education in this field and need to become more aware of the fact that palliative care not only concerns end-of-life and death issues but also must follow the entire continuum of life. Moreover, the possibility in Switzerland to request suicide assistance, mainly provided by associations at the persons’ home but also, less frequently, within institutional or hospital contexts, contributes to the openness of the public debate on death and end of life. This possibility may nevertheless represent a challenge to palliative care workers when they are confronted with such a request.
Families and Family Conferencing
Authors: Fineberg Iris Cohen 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The importance of family becomes magnified at times of serious illness, when people must grapple not only with the illness experience but also with facing end of life. The importance of family remains central regardless of family configuration or degree of presence. Social workers’ language and behaviors signal respect and support for diverse family variations. This chapter discusses the concept and complexity of family, family assessment, and common challenges for families in the palliative care context. The importance of attention to families’ nuanced experiences of culture, discrimination, and loss is punctuated. Information about communication and conducting interprofessional family conferences is presented. As members of interprofessional healthcare teams, social workers must articulate, model, and apply their expertise to advocate for and optimize family care experiences, recognizing their significance for bereavement.
Family Caregivers in Palliative Care
Authors: Glajchen Myra , Wilkins Christine 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Family caregivers are essential to the overall care and well-being of individuals with chronic and serious illness. As important partners in healthcare, caregivers provide critical assistance to ill relatives, caring for their day-to-day needs, assisting with decision-making, assessing symptoms, administering medications, and providing companionship. Palliative care teams recognize the importance of family caregivers in care planning. The palliative social worker is uniquely trained in caregiver assessment with the requisite skills to directly address caregiver needs, promote coping, link caregivers with community resources, and provide continuity and support throughout the illness trajectory. This chapter provides an overview of caregivers in the United States, including policy developments and needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregiver assessment is discussed using the framework of the National Consensus Project domains. A wide range of social work interventions are shared. The chapter ends with a call to action in the areas of clinical social work, research, and education.
Mental Health Risk in Palliative Care
Authors: Walsh Katherine , Hedlund Susan 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Disease-modifying treatment and medical advancements have extended life expectancy for those with serious or chronic illnesses, and providers and insurers have recognized that patients and families may live for long periods of time with debilitating symptoms, side effects, and psychosocial distress. These may create or exacerbate risks for mental health conditions that can impede medical care. These risks must be accurately assessed if they are to be treated effectively. Social workers play an integral role as the primary mental health providers on palliative care teams. Training in biopsychosocial assessment, including assessing for symptoms that represent the diagnostic criteria for mental disorders, equips social workers to collaborate with the interdisciplinary team and provide therapeutic interventions to address these. This chapter utilizes a review of the literature and a case narrative to illustrate the complexity of assessment and the importance of a multifaceted team approach to the care of patients and families experiencing distress.
Advance Directives from a Social Work Perspective
Authors: Bullock-Johnson Ramona , Bullock Karen 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
A review of the literature since the year 2000 erases all doubt about the increasing cultural, racial, ethnic, and religious diversity of the United States, which has ushered in demographic trends that lead to complex sociocultural care dynamics and the likelihood that our patients’ values may not be concordant with those of traditional Western-based medicine. Palliative social workers face the challenge of implementing and evaluating healthcare practices and approaches that effectively and respectfully meet the demands of diverse populations in need of serious illness care. Moreover, care for diverse patients and families with life-limiting illness is compromised when there is a lack of understanding about culturally bound treatment preferences and or distrust for the healthcare system. This chapter recommends cultural competence in advance care planning as a means for equipping social workers with the tools needed to engage individuals and family members in conversations early and increase the utilization of advance directives among diverse populations.
Meaning-Centered Therapies
Authors: Nichols Jordan 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Meaning-centered therapies include evidence-based interventions that provide accessible, structured approaches to address existential distress in people with serious illnesses. In palliative care settings, we often meet patients and their families as they realize a disconnect from that which gives meaning, worth, and purpose to their lives. These losses frequently result in demoralization, increased symptom burden, a desire for hastened death, and a multitude of other physiological and psychosocial sequelae. Informed by existential thinkers, spiritual practices, and human wisdom, meaning-centered therapies help patients focus on recapturing, creating, experiencing, and maintaining a sense of meaning while living with advanced illness and when approaching end of life.
Supportive Counseling
Authors: Cooper William Michael 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Supportive counseling, founded by Carl Rogers, is a therapeutic intervention that focuses on the relationship between the counselor and the client. Rogers asserted that psychological change for the client could only happen in relationship regardless of the therapeutic intervention, school, or approach of the therapist. He defines six “necessary and sufficient conditions” for therapeutic change. The therapist strives to incorporate unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding as they explore and reflect the client’s subjective view of self in relationship to their ideal self. This chapter describes the background and efficacy of supportive counseling with a review of core concepts, evidence base in the literature, and practical applications of supportive counseling in palliative care.
Hospice and Palliative Social Work’s Ethical Challenge
Authors: Schroepfer Tracy , Goldberg Jaime , Wladkowski Stephanie 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
This chapter explores the timely and multifaceted controversy surrounding the legalization of aid in dying (AID) in the United States, highlighting the clinical and ethical implications for hospice and palliative social workers. Though the debate about AID continues, legislation in several states has passed in the last decade with more pending. Currently, hospice and palliative social workers, along with their team members, are navigating the legal, ethical, and clinical complexities of this issue. This chapter examines the often value-laden terminology used in describing AID, current state AID laws and proposed legislation, professional organizations’ positions on AID, and agency and organizational policies and procedures related to AID. Ethical issues faced by social workers, particularly in relation to inequities and disparities in AID, and their preparedness to contend with AID in their practice are discussed. Implications for practice, policy, and research are provided.
Advancing the Social Work Profession within Palliative Care
Authors: Cagle John G. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
This chapter serves as an introduction to the Professional Issues section of the Text. It highlights the growth of the palliative social work profession and its essential role within palliative care teams. While many laudable accomplishments have helped to advance the field in recent decades, much exciting and important work remains to address gaps in the research base and pervasive social inequities.
The Influence of Policy on End-of-Life and Palliative Care
Authors: Kusmaul Nancy 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
End-of-life and palliative care in the United States is influenced by a web of policies that impact access to—and payment for—curative, life-extending, and comfort-based treatments. This chapter examines three specific sets of policies: Medicare Part A and its influence on access to curative, restorative, and hospice services; the Patient Self-Determination Act and its role, and related policies in healthcare decision-making; and state-specific policies that allow access to medical aid in dying for people who meet specific criteria. The chapter concludes with an overall view of the ways social workers and other healthcare workers can influence policy to eradicate barriers and enhance care along the continuum of illness and at end of life.
Select Epilepsy Syndromes Seen in Adulthood
Authors: Abou-Khalil Bassel 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Select epilepsy syndromes can begin in childhood but are also seen in adulthood. Among these are the family of absence epilepsies, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and a host of focal epilepsy syndromes. This chapter discusses the clinical features of many of these epilepsy syndromes.
Terminology and Definitions
Authors: Misulis Karl E. , Abou-Khalil Bassel 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
In the diagnosis of epilepsy, observed events include both clinical events and electroencephalographic (EEG) events. Clinical events are the epileptic seizures and nonepileptic events of many types. EEG events are the spikes, sharp waves, epileptiform discharges, and other findings which, when observed, help the clinician make the diagnosis of epilepsy.
Normal EEG
Authors: Abou-Khalil Bassel 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Part of the reason that electroencephalogram (EEG) interpretation is so difficult is that there is a very broad range of normal, and identifying what is normal or abnormal depends on many factors (age, state, and comorbid conditions). The normal EEG is defined by the absence of abnormalities. The normal adult EEG is characterized by a complex series of rhythms, transients, and variants which are interpreted as normal or abnormal based on age, state, and other clinical parameters. This is the foundation on which is built the types of abnormalities which are identified to produce an accurate diagnosis. This chapter discusses the features of the normal adult EEG.
Abnormal Pediatric EEG
Authors: Ess Kevin C. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
The pediatric electroencephalogram (EEG) can be abnormal in a variety of ways. As with adults, there can be epileptiform and nonepileptiform abnormalities. In addition, there are disorders of maturation and background which are specific to children. This chapter discusses both epileptiform and nonepileptiform abnormalities.
Medications A–Z
Authors: Abou-Khalil Bassel , Misulis Karl E. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
There are a wide variety of medications available for the treatment of seizures, and most have been mentioned earlier in this text. For up-to-date prescribing information, the reader is referred to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) site dailymed.nlm.nih.gov, which is a source for information on approved uses by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Of course, common medical use extends beyond the FDA-approved documentation in the spectrum of efficacy and dosing of anti-seizure medications. This chapter discusses those medications in common use in many countries, with regulatory information focused on their use in the United States.
Functional brain imaging in bipolar disorder
Authors: Kirsch Dylan E. , Tretyak, Valeria , Strakowski, Stephen M. , Lippard Elizabeth T.C. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Functional activation studies have the power to inform our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying bipolar disorder. A better understanding of the neural correlates of affective lability, reward sensitivity, and disruptions in executive function—characteristic traits of bipolar disorder—can inform development of novel intervention strategies and improve upon existing pharmacological and behavioral treatment approaches. This chapter provides an overview of what we know from functional activation studies of emotion regulation, reward processing, and executive functioning in bipolar disorder. To date, findings converge to suggest differences from healthy subjects in activation across frontal, limbic, and striatal regions. Hyperactivation in limbic structures may be a trait-based feature of bipolar disorder and may, at least in part, be associated with decreased engagement in frontal regions, although specific activation patterns vary across mood states and differ depending on sample demographics and experimental paradigms. Longitudinal treatment studies have also shown prospective changes in activation patterns following pharmacological intervention. Findings highlight the need for larger longitudinal studies that combine assessment of both neural structure and function and have adequate power to examine how findings may be influenced by differing medication regimens, mood states, bipolar subtypes (bipolar type I, II, not otherwise specified), and the presence of co-occurring mental health conditions such as substance use disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and history of early life trauma.