Palliative Care and Advance Directives After Stroke

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Video Runtime: 39 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 31 Minutes

This course provides students with an overview of the palliative care needs of post-stroke patients and their family members, and provides recommendations for nurses caring for stroke patients and their families across the care continuum. The course starts with an overview of palliative care including definitions and key elements. Current research on and tools for assessing palliative care needs in stroke patients and their families are discussed. Suggestions for family-centered approaches to stroke palliative care and recommendations for nurses who are providing care for stroke patients and their family members in multiple settings are included.

Meet your instructor

Barbara Lutz

Dr. Barbara Lutz is the McNeill Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington School of Nursing. Her 30+ year career as a rehabilitation and public health nurse spans practice, research, education, and service. Her research focuses on understanding the needs and experiences of patients with stroke and…

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Chapters & learning objectives

1. Introduction to Palliative Care and Advance Directives

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., and the risk of death in the first five years post-stroke is approximately 50%, with the highest risk in the first year. In order to provide family-centered care, knowledge about palliative care approaches are critical for nurses who provide care to stroke patients and their family members. This chapter includes definitions and key principles of palliative care and provides the rationale for why implementing palliative care approaches are critical for many stroke patients and their families.

2. Palliative Care and Stroke: Current Research

In order to provide evidence-based palliative care, nurses need to understand the current state of the science of palliative care research, and its application when caring for stroke patients. This chapter provides an overview of the current research in palliative care and stroke, identifies gaps in research, and includes suggestions for future studies.

3. Recommendations for Nurses Caring for Stroke Patients

The final chapter provides recommendations for nurses who provide care for stroke patients and their families across the care continuum. Tools for assessing palliative care needs will be discussed. Palliative care resources, including clinical guidelines that nurses can use when working with stroke patients, will be shared.

More courses in this series

Nursing’s Role in Care Transitions from Acute Care to Post-Acute Care

Michelle Camicia and Barbara Lutz

Post-Stroke Resources and Community Reintegration

Michelle Camicia and Barbara Lutz