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Trauma-informed palliative care: A systematic scoping review of evidence sources describing concepts relevant to an emerging field of practice.

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Title: Trauma-informed palliative care: A systematic scoping review of evidence sources describing concepts relevant to an emerging field of practice.
Authors: Salama, Rebecca (AUTHOR), Simpson, Jane (AUTHOR), Eccles, Fiona J. R. (AUTHOR), French, Maddy (AUTHOR)
Source: Palliative Medicine. Jun2026, Vol. 40 Issue 6, p722-743. 22p.
Subjects: Psychology of the terminally ill, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Medical information storage & retrieval systems, Health services accessibility, Palliative treatment, Psychological distress, Interprofessional relations, Research funding, CINAHL database, Descriptive statistics, Emotional trauma, Systematic reviews, MEDLINE, Thematic analysis, Burden of care, Patient-centered care, Patient-professional relations, Trust, Terminal care, Social support, Psychology information storage & retrieval systems, Hospice care, Communication barriers, Health care teams
Abstract: Background: Trauma-informed palliative care aims to improve end-of-life experiences by recognising and responding to the presence of psychological trauma. While many practitioners support the approach, they also acknowledge the need to build a stronger evidence base. Aim: To: (1) understand the methodology and defining features of existing research; (2) describe how the impact of psychological trauma at the end-of-life is understood; and (3) describe the nature of, and challenges to, palliative care approaches that recognise and respond to such trauma. Design: A systematic scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The review protocol was registered on Open Science Framework. Data sources: Eight electronic databases were systematically searched; evidence sources that considered psychological trauma in an end-of-life context were included. Results: Ninety-nine sources (13 countries) were identified. 40% were clinical case studies. Cancer was the primary diagnosis for the majority of patients in 55 sources and 24 sources focussed on veterans. Six ways of describing the impact of psychological trauma at the end-of-life were identified. Few sources (n = 20) implemented trauma-informed care; 15 of these were clinical case studies. Though trauma-informed palliative care was not always explicitly present, six palliative care approaches to recognising and responding to psychological trauma, and five main challenges to its effective implementation, were identified. Conclusions: Limited research has been conducted on trauma-informed palliative care. However, the review identified a substantial body of evidence that describes concepts relevant to its approach. These findings provide a valuable starting point for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Palliative Medicine is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Trauma-informed palliative care: A systematic scoping review of evidence sources describing concepts relevant to an emerging field of practice.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Salama%2C+Rebecca%22">Salama, Rebecca</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Simpson%2C+Jane%22">Simpson, Jane</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Eccles%2C+Fiona+J%2E+R%2E%22">Eccles, Fiona J. R.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22French%2C+Maddy%22">French, Maddy</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Palliative+Medicine%22">Palliative Medicine</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 40 Issue 6, p722-743. 22p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+of+the+terminally+ill%22">Psychology of the terminally ill</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Post-traumatic+stress+disorder%22">Post-traumatic stress disorder</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+information+storage+%26+retrieval+systems%22">Medical information storage & retrieval systems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+services+accessibility%22">Health services accessibility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Palliative+treatment%22">Palliative treatment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+distress%22">Psychological distress</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interprofessional+relations%22">Interprofessional relations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22CINAHL+database%22">CINAHL database</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emotional+trauma%22">Emotional trauma</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Systematic+reviews%22">Systematic reviews</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22MEDLINE%22">MEDLINE</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thematic+analysis%22">Thematic analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Burden+of+care%22">Burden of care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Patient-centered+care%22">Patient-centered care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Patient-professional+relations%22">Patient-professional relations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Trust%22">Trust</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Terminal+care%22">Terminal care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+support%22">Social support</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology+information+storage+%26+retrieval+systems%22">Psychology information storage & retrieval systems</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hospice+care%22">Hospice care</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communication+barriers%22">Communication barriers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+care+teams%22">Health care teams</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background: Trauma-informed palliative care aims to improve end-of-life experiences by recognising and responding to the presence of psychological trauma. While many practitioners support the approach, they also acknowledge the need to build a stronger evidence base. Aim: To: (1) understand the methodology and defining features of existing research; (2) describe how the impact of psychological trauma at the end-of-life is understood; and (3) describe the nature of, and challenges to, palliative care approaches that recognise and respond to such trauma. Design: A systematic scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The review protocol was registered on Open Science Framework. Data sources: Eight electronic databases were systematically searched; evidence sources that considered psychological trauma in an end-of-life context were included. Results: Ninety-nine sources (13 countries) were identified. 40% were clinical case studies. Cancer was the primary diagnosis for the majority of patients in 55 sources and 24 sources focussed on veterans. Six ways of describing the impact of psychological trauma at the end-of-life were identified. Few sources (n = 20) implemented trauma-informed care; 15 of these were clinical case studies. Though trauma-informed palliative care was not always explicitly present, six palliative care approaches to recognising and responding to psychological trauma, and five main challenges to its effective implementation, were identified. Conclusions: Limited research has been conducted on trauma-informed palliative care. However, the review identified a substantial body of evidence that describes concepts relevant to its approach. These findings provide a valuable starting point for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Palliative Medicine is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/02692163261425837
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 22
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    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Psychology of the terminally ill
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Post-traumatic stress disorder
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Medical information storage & retrieval systems
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health services accessibility
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Palliative treatment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychological distress
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interprofessional relations
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: CINAHL database
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Emotional trauma
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      – SubjectFull: Systematic reviews
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      – SubjectFull: Burden of care
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      – SubjectFull: Terminal care
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      – SubjectFull: Social support
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      – SubjectFull: Psychology information storage & retrieval systems
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hospice care
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communication barriers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health care teams
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      – TitleFull: Trauma-informed palliative care: A systematic scoping review of evidence sources describing concepts relevant to an emerging field of practice.
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              Text: Jun2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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