Description based upon print version of record.

Cover; The Hospice Companion; Copyright; Contents; Contributors; 1. General Processes; Palliative Care at the End of Life: Blending Structure and Function; The Interdisciplinary Team (IDT); Documentation; 2. Personal, Social, and Environmental Processes; Abuse in the Home; Advance Care Planning and Directives for Health-​care Interventions; Changes in Body Image and Loss of Independence; Changes in Family Dynamics; Completing Worldly Business and Life Closure; Controlled Substances: Misuse and Abuse; Cultural Differences: Respect, Understanding, and Adapting Care; Denial; Grief Reactions

Living Environment, Finances, and Support SystemsBasic Home Safety; Suicide: Risk Assessment, Prevention, and Coping If It Happens; Air Hunger (Dyspnea); Anorexia and Cachexia; Belching and Burping (Eructation); Bleeding, Draining, and Malodorous Lesions; Confusion/​Delirium; Constipation; Coughing; Depression; Diarrhea and Anorectal Problems; Dysphagia and Oropharyngeal Problems; Edema: Peripheral Edema, Ascites, and Lymphedema; Fatigue, Weakness (Aesthenia), and Excessive Sedation; Fever, Flushing, and Diaphoresis; Hiccups; Imminent Death; Insomnia and Nocturnal Restlessness

Nausea and VomitingPain; Pruritus; Seizures; Skeletal Muscle and Bladder Spasms; Skin Breakdown: Prevention and Treatment; Urinary Problems; Xerostomia (Dry Mouth); 4. Appendices; Appendix 1: Palliative Radiation Therapy in End-​of-​Life Care: Evidence-​Based Utilization; Appendix 2: Principles of Pharmacotherapy; Appendix 3: Ketamine Protocol; Appendix 4: Clinical/​Functional Assessment and Staging; Appendix 5: Anticoagulation; Index

The Hospice Companion is an easy-to-navigate clinical decision support tool for caregivers of those with life-limiting illnesses. It features a thoroughly current guide to clinical processes and symptom management, providing hospice professionals with a concise summary of changes that have influenced clinical practice.