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Background Palliative sedation is a commonly accepted medical practice. This study aims to clarify how palliative sedation is regulated in various countries and whether this may impact its practice. Methods An online survey requesting regulations on palliative sedation was conducted in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Romania and the UK. Purposive sampling strategy was used to identify clinicians from different medical fields and legal experts for each country. Regulations were analyzed using the principles of the European Association for Palliative Care Framework on palliative sedation. Country reports describing how palliative sedation is regulated were elaborated. Results One hundred and thirty-nine out of 223 (62%) participants identified 31 laws and other regulations affecting palliative sedation. In Spain, 12 regional laws recognize palliative sedation as a right of the patient at the end of life when there are refractory symptoms. In Italy, the law of informed consent and advance directives specifically recognizes the doctor can use deep sedation when there are refractory symptoms. There are also general medical laws that, while not explicitly referring to palliative sedation, regulate sedation-related principles: the obligation of doctors to honour advance directives, informed consent, the decision-making process and the obligation to document the whole process. In Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, palliative sedation is also regulated through professional guidelines that are binding as good practice with legal significance. Conclusions Palliative sedation is considered in the general law of medical practice, in laws regarding the patient's autonomy, and through professional guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although examining perspectives of patients on integrated palliative care organisation is essential, available literature is largely based on administrative data or healthcare professionals' perspectives. Aim: (1) Providing insight into the composition and quality of care networks of patients receiving palliative care and (2) describing perceived integration between healthcare professionals within these networks and its association with overall satisfaction. Design: Cross-sectional explorative design. Setting/participants: We recruited 157 patients (62% cancer, 25% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 13% chronic heart failure, mean age 68 years, 55% female) from 23 integrated palliative care initiatives in Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary and the Netherlands. Results: About 33% reported contact with a palliative care specialist and 48% with a palliative care nurse. Relationships with palliative care specialists were rated significantly higher than other physicians (p < 0.001). Compared to patients with cancer, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds ratio = 0.16, confidence interval (0.04; 0.57)) and chronic heart failure (odds ratio = 0.11, confidence interval (0.01; 0.93)) had significantly lower odds of reporting contact with palliative care specialists and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds ratio = 0.23, confidence interval (0.08; 0.71)) had significantly lower odds of reporting contact with palliative care nurses. Perceptions of main responsible healthcare professionals or caregivers in patient's care networks varied across countries. Perceived integration was significantly associated with overall satisfaction. Conclusion: Palliative care professionals are not always present or recognised as such in patients' care networks. Expert palliative care involvement needs to be explicated especially for non-cancer patients. One healthcare professional should support patients in understanding and navigating their palliative care network. Patients seem satisfied with care provision as long as continuity of care is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dramatic drop in employment occurred in Hungary following the change of regime which particularly affected the Roma, people of reduced working ability, and mothers with young children. Alongside economic considerations, the prejudices of employers and discrimination in employment constitute the most significant obstacles to returning to the workplace. The poor mental and physical health of these groups further reduces their chances of finding employment. Only legislation exists to manage the problem, which—in the absence of other interventions—has not brought a breakthrough in the employment of these groups in either the state or local governments or in private spheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family carers manage a wide range of responsibilities in the lives and care of patients receiving palliative care. They fulfil multiple roles and perform activities within different settings. This has immediate consequences on family carers’ every-day lives. According to literature, family carers in palliative care are both part of the formal and informal care network, but also persons in need of support. This article aims to investigate 1) burdens and rewards associated with family caregiving and 2) what family carers find helpful in their contact with professionals from integrated palliative care initiatives (IPC-i) and other services. Methods: Family carers looking after patients with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or chronic heart failure were purposefully recruited at 22 IPC-i in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in the course of the project “Patient-centred palliative care pathways in advanced cancer and chronic disease” (InSup-C). Semi-structured interviews (n = 156) and 87 quantitative questionnaires (CRA, POS, CANHELP Lite) were conducted with family carers. Interviews were analysed with transnationally agreed thematic codes (MAXQDA or NVivo). Statistical tests (SPSS) were carried out in accordance with the characteristic value of the items and distributions. Results: On average, quantitative data showed moderate burden, but the qualitative findings indicated that this burden might be underrated. There is some evidence that IPC-i with well-developed professional care networks and communication systems relieved family carers’ burden by direct and indirect interventions; e.g. provision of night shift nurses or psychological support. Needs of family carers were similar in all participating countries. However, in all countries IPC-i mostly offered one-off events for family carers, lacking systematic or institutionalised support structures. Conclusions: Data suggest that, most IPC-i did not pay enough attention to the needs of most family carers, and did not offer proactive care and access to supportive resources to them (e.g. training, respite care, access to resources). We recommend recognizing family carers as part of the ‘unit of care’ and partner in caregiving, to improve their knowledge about, and access to, and the support available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Összefoglaló.Bevezetés: Az európai országok közül Magyarország a colorectalis daganatos incidencia és mortalitás szempontjából az élen szerepel. Ennek hátterében a beteghez vagy az egészségügyi rendszerhez köthető tényezők is állhatnak. Célkitűzés: Kutatásunk célja, hogy pilotvizsgálat keretében feltárjuk a colorectalis daganatos betegek kezeléshez jutásának körülményeit azáltal, hogy a betegek első tünetei, kivizsgálásuk jellemzői, betegségük stádiuma és a terápiáig eltelt időtartamok közötti összefüggéseket elemezzük. Módszer: Retrospektív adatgyűjtés történt 26, Baranya megyei háziorvosi praxis colorectalis daganatos betegeinek (n = 212) adataira vonatkozóan a praxisok, valamint a Pécsi Tudományegyetem Klinikai Központjának (PTE KK) adatbázisából. Meghatároztuk a terápiáig eltelt intervallumot (TEI), amely az első orvos-beteg találkozástól - amikor a beteg colorectalis daganatra utaló tünetekkel először jelentkezett orvosnál - a terápia megkezdésének első napjáig eltelt időt jelenti. A statisztikai elemzés során deskriptív analízist, valamint varianciaanalízist végeztünk. Eredmények: A sürgősségire került betegek leggyakoribb tünete a hasi/végbéltáji fájdalom volt, míg a háziorvost felkereső betegek a véres székletet említették a legtöbbször. A sürgősségi osztályon jelentkező betegek esetében lényegesen magasabb arányban (61%) diagnosztizáltak késői (III-IV.) stádiumú daganatot, mint a háziorvoshoz forduló betegek körében (42,7%). A TEI rövidebb volt, ha a betegek sürgősségi osztályra kerültek (TEI-medián: 15 nap késői, 34,5 nap korai [I-II.] stádiumú daganat esetén), mint amikor háziorvosnál jelentkeztek először (TEI-medián: 86 nap késői, 83 nap korai stádiumú daganat esetén). Következtetés: A sürgősségi és a háziorvosi kivizsgálás esetén észlelt TEI-k összemérhetők a nyugat-európai országokéival. A hazai magas mortalitási mutatók hátterében inkább a betegek késedelmes orvoshoz fordulása állhat, ami a primer és szekunder prevenció fontosságára hívja fel a figyelmet. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(4): 153-160., Introduction: Hungary has one of the leading colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates in Europe. Patient-related and healthcare-related factors may all play a role., Objective: Our objective was to investigate the characteristics related to the treatment of colorectal cancer patients by analysing their initial symptoms, disease stage, referral characteristics and total treatment intervals., Method: A retrospective study was conducted based on data from colorectal patients (n = 212) from the databases of 26 general physician practices and the University of Pécs, Clinical Center. The total treatment interval was determined as the number of days from the first patient-physician consultation with symptoms until the first day of treatment. Descriptive analysis and analysis of variance were performed., Results: Patients' most common symptom was abdominal/rectal pain when presenting at the emergency department while bloody stool was the most common among patients visiting their general physicians. The proportion of patients with advanced stage (III-IV) cancer was significantly higher at the emergency department than among patients visiting their general physicians (61% and 42.7%, respectively). The total treatment interval was shorter when patients presented at the emergency department (total treatment interval median: 15 days for advanced stage, 34.5 days for early [I-II] stage cancer) than when they initially visited their general physicians (total treatment interval median: 83 days for early stage, 86 days for advanced stage cancers)., Conclusion: The total treatment intervals for patients visiting the emergency department or their general physicians were similar to those found in Western European countries. The high mortality rates in Hungary are more probably due to patient-related delays, which highlight the importance of primary and secondary prevention. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(4): 153-160.

At the advanced stage of serious illness, end-of-life decisions need to be made. Advance care planning offers patients the right to decide on their own future care when independent decision-making is no longer possible. The most complex and effective advance care plans include patients' preferred or refused medical treatments, care-related wishes, and individual values as well. Advance care planning can improve end-of-life care and contribute to higher satisfaction. It can also reduce distress in relatives and the costs of care. Patients' preferences provide a guidance for professional care. A number of studies have identified the benefits of advance care planning, and it has been included in guidelines. Potential barriers to advance care planning could be as follows: taboo of talking about dying, negative attitudes of patients and relatives, poor knowledge of professional caregivers, lack of necessary circumstances to have the conversation. Advance care planning is almost unknown in Hungary, although it is possible to refuse certain types of treatments. Cooperation of professionals, development of gradual and postgraduate trainings, and improvement of social awareness are also needed so that advance care planning can be adapted in Hungary. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(4): 131-140.

Modern palliative-hospice care has gained space in Europe for more than 50 years. Since the initial empirical work of Cicely Saunders, palliative medicine has gained its place in evidence-based medicine in more and more countries. However, development, as in many other medical fields, is not uniform, there are big differences between countries in the world. There are also significant differences in development of care and the level of services within the European Union amongst Western and Eastern European countries. These differences affect the professional approach, legislative mechanisms and social acceptance. Hungarian palliative-hospice care has developed significantly over the past 15 years. For further development thoughtful strategic steps and service development is needed. The integration of palliative care into standard oncology is an international requirement, which also appears in the form of professional guidelines. Hungary has also played a role in the development of the European model of integrated palliative care of which Hungarian implementation, the "Pécs model", is discussed in detail in our paper.

Introduction: The experiences gained during the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009/2010 could serve for a better planning and management of later outbreaks., Aim: The EU-sponsored TELL ME project aimed to provide evidence and develop models for improved risk communication during infectious disease crisis. Among its objectives was to develop original communication strategies regarding appropriate messages related to preventative behavior and advice based on uncertainties also addressing vaccine-resistant groups., Method: Focus groups involving family physicians (FPs) were called upon for assessing the main issues during the H1N1 pandemic, the possibilities for improving the preventative process and outcomes., Results: The study demonstrated the key-role of family doctors during outbreaks; patients put their trust in their elected FP, he or she representing a personal example of health behavior. The evidence based information about effectiveness and safety of vaccines are needed in communication towards health professionals., Conclusions: Involvement of health care professionals in the communication provides validity, the communication routine of opinion leaders meant to be used for such purpose. The main media message should be: "For prevention go to see your family doctor". Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(14), 523-532.

Grief is a natural part of life and it is always individual. Researchers have tried and still try to develop different theories to interpret, explain, and approach this particular phenomenon. The aim of the authors was to review the theoretical literature of mourning and to present new bereavement theories for domestic professionals. From the first half of the 20th century until presently mourning theories have undergone significant changes. Today the determinant models includes the flexible, coping-oriented dual process model, meaning reconstruction model which focuses on the meaning making, and the model which focuses on the development after the loss. The authors conclude that experts, who work in the clinical area should know the prevailing theories of grief, because they encounter often with loss at work. The presented models may contribute to more efficient work, to better understanding of the mourning process and to a better support of families.

A dramatic drop in employment occurred in Hungary following the change of regime which particularly affected the Roma, people of reduced working ability, and mothers with young children. Alongside economic considerations, the prejudices of employers and discrimination in employment constitute the most significant obstacles to returning to the workplace. The poor mental and physical health of these groups further reduces their chances of finding employment. Only legislation exists to manage the problem, which-in the absence of other interventions-has not brought a breakthrough in the employment of these groups in either the state or local governments or in private spheres.