Nausea and Vomiting in Palliative Care

Course Overview

Nausea and vomiting are symptoms that are commonly experienced by patients with advanced disease.

This Course explores why this is the case and focuses on strategies to manage nausea and vomiting and maintain the comfort of the individual.

Topics

• Pathophysiology of nausea and vomiting
• Assessment of nausea and vomiting
• Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to reduce nausea and vomiting

Need

Nausea and vomiting are distressing experiences for people with a variety of advanced and progressive illnesses. Frequently there can be acute bursts of nausea and vomiting, but they are often chronic, extending for long periods of time, particularly in advanced illnesses.

Nausea and vomiting impact on a person’s day-to-day activities and on their quality of life, and can lead to additional health problems such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and/or malnutrition, adding to a person’s already traumatic experience.

Given the tenet of palliative care is the comfort of the individual, healthcare professionals are in a unique position to assist in alleviating and/or providing symptomatic relief of nausea and vomiting.

Purpose

The purpose of this Course is to present the best available evidence for clinical practice in the management of nausea and vomiting in palliative care settings.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe the pathophysiology of nausea and vomiting
• Explain how a comprehensive assessment is undertaken of nausea and vomiting
• Describe the interventions for reducing nausea and vomiting

Target Audience

This Course is relevant to all healthcare professionals, particularly registered nurses working in palliative care, aged care, and acute and community care settings

Disclosure

No conflict of interest exists for anyone in the position to control content for this activity. Wherever possible, generic or non-proprietary names of medications or products have been used.

Educator

John Rosenberg

Dr John Rosenberg is a Registered Nurse with a clinical background in community-based palliative care. He has worked as an educator and researcher in care of people at the end of life. John was responsible for the development of the postgraduate Chronic Disease Management and Palliative Care suite of courses at the University of Queensland School of Nursing and Midwifery. He is a co-author of the Framework of Competency Standards for Specialist Palliative Care Nursing Practice. John is the immediate past President of Palliative Care Nurses Australia Inc., the peak body for nurses in Australia caring for people at the end of life. He was the inaugural Director of the Calvary Centre for Palliative Care Research in Canberra with the Australian Catholic University. John currently works as a Research Fellow in the Centre for Research Excellence in End of Life Care at Queensland University of Technology. See Educator Profile