Katherine Pettus

Bio: Katherine Pettus is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Palliative care & Medicine. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 12 publications receiving 156 citations.

White Paper for Global Palliative Care Advocacy: Recommendations from a PAL-LIFE Expert Advisory Group of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Vatican City.

Abstract: Background: The Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) is an academic institution of the Holy See (Vatican), which aims to develop and promote Catholic teachings on questions of biomedical ethi...

The impact of COVID-19 on palliative care workers across the world: A qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions.

Abstract: Objective With over two million deaths and almost 100 million confirmed cases, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a “tsunami of suffering.” Health care workers, including palliative care workers, have been severely impacted. This study explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted palliative care workers around the world and describes the coping strategies they have adopted to face their specific situation. Method We conducted a qualitative analysis of written, unstructured comments provided by respondents to a survey of IAHPC members between May and June 2020. Free text was exported to MAX QDA, and a thematic analysis was performed by reading the comments and developing a coding frame. Results Seventy-seven palliative care workers from 41 countries submitted at least one written comment, resulting in a data corpus of 10,694 words and a total of 374 coded comments. Eight main themes are emerged from the analysis: palliative care development, workforce impact, work reorganization, palliative care reconceptualization, economic and financial impacts, increased risk, emotional impact, and coping strategies. Significance of results The pandemic has had a huge impact on palliative care workers including their ability to work and their financial status. It has generated increased workloads and placed them in vulnerable positions that affect their emotional well-being, resulting in distress and burnout. Counseling and support networks provide important resilience-building buffers. Coping strategies such as team and family support are important factors in workers’ capacity to adapt and respond. The pandemic is changing the concept and praxis of palliative care. Government officials, academia, providers, and affected populations need to work together to develop, and implement steps to ensure palliative care integration into response preparedness plans so as not to leave anyone behind, including health workers.

Documento de Posición Oficial sobre la Promoción Global de Cuidados Paliativos: Recomendaciones del Grupo Internacional Asesor PAL-LIFE de la Academia Pontificia de la Vida, Ciudad del Vaticano

Abstract: Resumen Contexto: La Academia Pontificia de la Vida (PAV) es una institucion academica de la Santa Sede (Vaticano) cuyo objetivo es promover una vision catolica de la etica biomedica. La PAV invito a una serie de expertos en Cuidados Paliativos (CP) de todo el mundo, de todas las creencias, a desarrollar recomendaciones estrategicas para el desarrollo global de CP ("Grupo PAL-LIFE"). Diseno: Trece expertos internacionales reconocidos por su actividad promotora global de CP participaron en un estudio Delphi on-line. En un proceso de cuatro rondas, se pidio a los participantes que identificasen los grupos de interes o instituciones claves para la promocion de CP y que propusieran, para cada uno de ellos, recomendaciones estrategicas para el desarrollo de CP. Cada ronda incorporaba los comentarios de las rondas previas hasta lograr el consenso en las recomendaciones mas importantes. En una ultima fase, al grupo de expertos se le solicito la jerarquizacion por importancia de los grupos clave en una escala de 1 a 13. Tambien se solicitaron sugerencias concretas para la implementacion de las recomendaciones. Mediante analisis cluster se ordenaron los grupos de interes en dos niveles de importancia para el desarrollo de CP. Resultados: Trece recomendaciones fueron seleccionadas como las mas importantes (una por cada grupo clave). Las recomendaciones para los grupos mejor puntuados fueron: (1) Responsables Politicos: garantizar el acceso universal a los CP; (2) Academia: ofrecer cursos obligatorios de CP en el pregrado; (3) Profesionales sanitarios: promover una certificacion adecuada; (4) Hospitales e Instituciones sanitarias: asegurar el acceso a medicamentos de CP; y (5) Asociaciones de CP: ser promotoras eficaces y trabajar con los gobiernos en la implementacion de las recomendaciones internacionales sobre CP. Tambien se presentan recomendaciones para los ocho grupos clave restantes. Discusion: Este documento representa la posicion oficial de la PAV en lo que respecta a estrategias de promocion para el desarrollo de los CP en el mundo.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Abstract: Chairman's Report of Proceedings 1. Attached is the Chairman's Report of Proceedings of the Meeting of the Consultative Group for Haiti held in Paris, January 30-31, 1995. The following annexes are attached to this report (in order of appearance at the meeting): Annex I: List of Delegates Annex II: Agenda Annex III: Statement by Mr. Smarck Michel, Prime Minister of Haiti Annex IV: Statement by Mr. Enrique Iglesias, President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Annex V: Report of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Annex VI: Statement by Ms. Marie-Michele Rey, Minister of Economy and Finance of Haiti Annex VII: Statement of Mr. Edilberto L. Segura, Director, International Development Association (IDA) Annex VIII: Statement by Mr. John Thornton, Deputy Division Chief, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annex IX: Statement by Mr. Philippe Lietard, Director, Corporate Finances Department, IFC Annex X: Statement by Mr. Jean-Marie Cherestal, Minister of Planning and External Cooperation Annex XI: Statement by Mr. Miguel E. Martinez, Manager Regional Operation Department II, IDB Annex XII: Statement by Mr. Fernando Zumbado, Assistant Secretary General, UNDP Annex XIII: Press Releases 2. Comments or corrections should be sent to the Vicc Presidcnt and Secrctary or Deputy Secrertary of the Bank by May 26, 1995.

Delphi Technique in Health Sciences: A Map.

Abstract: Objectives: In health sciences, the Delphi technique is primarily used by researchers when the available knowledge is incomplete or subject to uncertainty and other methods that provide higher levels of evidence cannot be used. The aim is to collect expert-based judgments and often to use them to identify consensus. In this map, we provide an overview of the fields of application for Delphi techniques in health sciences in this map and discuss the processes used and the quality of the findings. We use systematic reviews of Delphi techniques for the map, summarize their findings and examine them from a methodological perspective. Methods: Twelve systematic reviews of Delphi techniques from different sectors of the health sciences were identified and systematically analyzed. Results: The 12 systematic reviews show, that Delphi studies are typically carried out in two to three rounds with a deliberately selected panel of experts. A large number of modifications to the Delphi technique have now been developed. Significant weaknesses exist in the quality of the reporting. Conclusion: Based on the results, there is a need for clarification with regard to the methodological approaches of Delphi techniques, also with respect to any modification. Criteria for evaluating the quality of their execution and reporting also appear to be necessary. However, it should be noted that we cannot make any statements about the quality of execution of the Delphi studies but rather our results are exclusively based on the reported findings of the systematic reviews.

A Qualitative Interview Study

Abstract: Context Model driven development envisages the use of model transformations to evolve models. Model transformation languages, developed for this task, are touted with many benefits over general purpose programming languages. However, a large number of these claims have not yet been substantiated. They are also made without the context necessary to be able to critically assess their merit or built meaningful empirical studies around them.

The European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC)

Abstract: The European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) was established on 12 December 1988, with 42 founding members and following important initiatives by Professor Vittorio Ventafridda and the Floriani Foundation The aim of the EAPC is to promote palliative care in Europe and to act as a focus for all of those who work, or have an interest, in the field of palliative care at the scientific, clinical and social levels

Breast cancer treatment: A phased approach to implementation.

Abstract: Optimal treatment outcomes for breast cancer are dependent on a timely diagnosis followed by an organized, multidisciplinary approach to care. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, effective care management pathways can be difficult to follow because of financial constraints, a lack of resources, an insufficiently trained workforce, and/or poor infrastructure. On the basis of prior work by the Breast Health Global Initiative, this article proposes a phased implementation strategy for developing sustainable approaches to enhancing patient care in limited-resource settings by creating roadmaps that are individualized and adapted to the baseline environment. This strategy proposes that, after a situational analysis, implementation phases begin with bolstering palliative care capacity, especially in settings where a late-stage diagnosis is common. This is followed by strengthening the patient pathway, with consideration given to a dynamic balance between centralization of services into centers of excellence to achieve better quality and decentralization of services to increase patient access. The use of resource checklists ensures that comprehensive therapy or palliative care can be delivered safely and effectively. Episodic or continuous monitoring with established process and quality metrics facilitates ongoing assessment, which should drive continual process improvements. A series of case studies provides a snapshot of country experiences with enhancing patient care, including the implementation of national cancer control plans in Kenya, palliative care in Romania, the introduction of a 1-stop clinic for diagnosis in Brazil, the surgical management of breast cancer in India, and the establishment of a women's cancer center in Ghana.