Adam Sullivan

Why Is Spiritual Care Infrequent at the End of Life? Spiritual Care Perceptions Among Patients, Nurses, and Physicians and the Role of Training

PURPOSE To determine factors contributing to the infrequent provision of spiritual care (SC) by nurses and physicians caring for patients at the end of life (EOL). PATIENTS AND METHODS This is a survey-based, multisite study conducted from March 2006 through January 2009. All eligible patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative radiation therapy and oncology physician and nurses at four Boston academic centers were approached for study participation; 75 patients (response rate = 73%) and 339 nurses and physicians (response rate = 63%) participated. The survey assessed practical and operational dimensions of SC, including eight SC examples. Outcomes assessed five factors hypothesized to contribute to SC infrequency. RESULTS Most patients with advanced cancer had never received any form of spiritual care from their oncology nurses or physicians (87% and 94%, respectively; P for difference = .043). Majorities of patients indicated that SC is an important component of cancer care from nurses and physicians (86% and 87%, respectively; P = .1). Most nurses and physicians thought that SC should at least occasionally be provided (87% and 80%, respectively; P = .16). Majorities of patients, nurses, and physicians endorsed the appropriateness of eight examples of SC (averages, 78%, 93%, and 87%, respectively; P = .01). In adjusted analyses, the strongest predictor of SC provision by nurses and physicians was reception of SC training (odds ratio [OR] = 11.20, 95% CI, 1.24 to 101; and OR = 7.22, 95% CI, 1.91 to 27.30, respectively). Most nurses and physicians had not received SC training (88% and 86%, respectively; P = .83). CONCLUSION Patients, nurses, and physicians view SC as an important, appropriate, and beneficial component of EOL care. SC infrequency may be primarily due to lack of training, suggesting that SC training is critical to meeting national EOL care guidelines.

Examining Forms of Spiritual Care Provided in the Advanced Cancer Setting.

Spiritual care (SC) is important to the care of seriously ill patients. Few studies have examined types of SC provided and their perceived impact. This study surveyed patients with advanced cancer (N = 75, response rate [RR] = 73%) and oncology nurses and physicians (N = 339, RR = 63%). Frequency and perceived impact of 8 SC types were assessed. Spiritual care is infrequently provided, with encouraging or affirming beliefs the most common type (20%). Spiritual history taking and chaplaincy referrals comprised 10% and 16%, respectively. Most patients viewed each SC type positively, and SC training predicted provision of many SC types. In conclusion, SC is infrequent, and core elements of SC—spiritual history taking and chaplaincy referrals—represent a minority of SC. Spiritual care training predicts provision of SC, indicting its importance to advancing SC in the clinical setting.

Postoperative radiation therapy for osseous metastasis: Outcomes and predictors of local failure

PURPOSE To evaluate patterns and predictors of local failure in patients undergoing postoperative radiation therapy (RT) for osseous metastases. METHODS AND MATERIALS Patients undergoing postoperative RT for bone metastases between June 2008 and January 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Patterns of local failure were assessed, and Fine and Grays univariable and multivariable analyses (MVA) were used to evaluate factors associated with local progression, including dose intensity of RT (biological equivalent dose, BED, Gy10) and percent coverage of the surgical hardware by the RT fields. Additional predictors were similarly assessed, including patient (eg, age, performance status), disease (eg, tumor type, metastasis site), and treatment (eg, interval from surgery to RT) characteristics. RESULTS A total of 82 cases were followed for a median of 4.3 months (11.5 months among living patients) after treatment completion. Median BED was 39 Gy10 (range, 14-60), and RT fields covered an average of 71% (standard deviation, 26%) of the hardware. Fourteen cases (17%) experienced local progression. Although most (71%) failures occurred within the RT fields, 29% occurred marginally or out of field, but adjacent to surgical hardware. Increasing coverage of the surgical hardware by RT fields was associated with a reduced risk of local failure in MVA (hazard ratio [HR], 0.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.012-0.82; P = .03), whereas a greater risk of failure was seen with increasing time between surgery and RT (HR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06; P = .01). Extremity rather than spinal site trended toward a greater risk of failure but did not reach significance (HR, 3.79; 95% CI, 0.96-14.89; P = .057). BED ≥39 Gy10 did not predict local failure (P = .51) in MVA. CONCLUSIONS Current strategies achieve good outcomes after postoperative RT for osseous metastases. Greater coverage of the surgical hardware with RT fields and avoiding delays between surgery and postoperative RT should be considered to reduce recurrence risk for patients with bone metastases requiring surgical stabilization.

Patterns of symptom control and palliative care-focused original research articles in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology *Biology* Physics and the Radiotherapy and Oncology Journal, 2005–2014

BACKGROUND A significant portion of radiation treatment (30-40%) is delivered with palliative intent. Given the frequency of palliative care (PC) in radiation oncology, we determined the patterns of research focusing on symptom control and palliative care (SCPC) in two prominent radiation oncology journals from 2005-2014. METHODS Original research manuscripts published from 2005-2014 in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology *Biology* Physics (Red Journal) and the Radiotherapy and Oncology Journal (Green Journal) were reviewed to categorize articles as PC and/or SCPC. Articles were categorized as PC if it pertained to any aspect of treatment of metastatic cancer, and as SCPC if symptom control in the metastatic cancer setting was the goal of the research inquiry and/or any domain of palliative clinical practice guidelines was the goal of research inquiry. RESULTS From 2005-2014, 4.9% (312/6,386) of original research articles published in the Red Journal and 3.5% (84/2,406) published in the Green Journal pertained to metastatic cancer, and were categorized as PC. In the Red Journal, 1.3% (84/6,386) of original research articles were categorized as SCPC; 1.3% (32/2,406) of articles in the Green Journal were categorized as SCPC. There was no trend observed in the proportion of SCPC articles published over time in the Red Journal (P=0.76), the Green Journal (P=0.48), or both journals in aggregate (P=0.38). CONCLUSIONS Despite the fact that palliative radiotherapy is a critical part of radiation oncology practice, PC and SCPC-focused original research is poorly represented in the Red Journal and the Green Journal.