A new journal, called Palliative & Supportive Care, will be published beginning in 2003 with William Breitbart as editor and Harvey Max Chochinov, M.D., Ph.D. and David Kissane, M.D., as co-editors. This journal will be published quarterly by Cambridge University Press and will be available in both print and online forms.

Palliative & Supportive Care is an international journal of palliative medicine that focuses on the psychiatric, psychosocial, spiritual, existential, ethical, and philosophical aspects of palliative care. The journal’s aim is to serve as an educational resource for practitioners from a wide array of disciplines engaged in the delivery of care to those with life threatening illnesses along the entire continuum of care from diagnosis to the end of life.

Original, peer-reviewed papers cover psychiatric disorders and their management in the palliative care setting, including but not limited to depression, delirium, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and bereavement. Evolving constructs of particular relevance to the interface of psychiatry/psychology and palliative medicine, such as demoralization, meaning, dignity, hopelessness, will to live, suffering, and developmental growth at the end of life are a major focus of this journal. Research focusing on these issues, including epidemiology, diagnostic screening, assessment, management, and intervention drug and psychotherapy trials, are also addressed. In addition, the journal provides a forum for the discussion of psychosocial and sociocultural matters such as caregiver burden, health care provider burnout, counseling interventions, the impact of psychosocial factors related to intervention of pain and physical symptom control, and communication issues.

Palliative & Supportive Care recognizes that spiritual, existential, philosophical, and ethical issues are essential elements of supportive and end of life care. The journal therefore includes dialogue on such topics as spiritual assessment and interventions, death with dignity, the role of religion and faith, euthanasia and assisted suicide, surrogate decision-making, art and music therapies, palliative care and the humanities, and the personal reflections of healthcare providers, patients, and families.

The scope of the journal is broad and relates to all aspects of palliative medicine that do not directly or exclusively deal with the administration of palliative care or hospice services, or with the primary management of pain and physical symptoms in palliative care. Palliative & Supportive Care will be the "Care" journal of palliative medicine; the journal whose mission is to expand the scope of the concept of adequate palliative care beyond pain and physical symptom control, to include the psychiatric, psychosocial, existential and spiritual domains of care.

Papers will be accepted for the following types of articles: Original research, Reviews Essays/personal reflections, Brief Reports. In addition, Palliative & Supportive Care will include editorials, letters to the editor, book and media reviews, and a calendar of upcoming events.

New Journal Health and Quality of Life Outcome, Cambridge University Press, Biomed Central

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