Introduction: Early palliative care is intended for patients with an incurable disease, where the palliative team offers them and their relatives support and assistance throughout the entire disease process, from diagnosis to the mourning period. Due to various factors, palliative care is often introduced too late. By starting early, patients could ease the disease process and improve their quality of life. Purpose: The purpose of the diploma thesis is to present the positive effects of oncology patients' involvement in early palliative care through a literature review, to define the role of the nurse and to research the effects of involvement in early palliative care and what are the obstacles that influence late involvement. Methods: In the diploma thesis, we used the descriptive method of the literature review, which was mostly based on foreign professional literature. The literature search was carried out using the Digital Library of the University of Ljubljana, the Medline (PubMed), Cinahl database and the Google Scholar web portal. Fully accessible literature published between 2014 and 2024 was included. Results: We reviewed 13 units of relevant literature in detail and identified the preferred effects of early palliative care, which are improved quality of life, better planning of care goals, longer life expectancy and fewer hospital admissions. Barriers that influence the late inclusion of palliative care are the presence of stigma among patients and healthcare professionals, the fear of starting care due to the lack of knowledge and experience of healthcare professionals in this area. Linking palliative care with end-of-life care is a barrier to starting a conversation between healthcare professionals and patients. Discussion and conclusion: Early and timely inclusion of oncology patients in early palliative care is key to achieving positive outcomes and better support within the palliative team. Educated healthcare staff are needed for high-quality palliative care for patients and their families. Based on the findings of the literature review on the selected topic, we believe that focused education of nurses on palliative care should be initiated to ensure professional and quality care and this reduce barriers and avoidance of palliative care related topics.
|