January 2006, id21 insights health #8

Palliative care

A basic human right

The global HIV pandemic has raised awareness of the need to provide care for those suffering from incurable diseases. Palliative care aims to maximise the quality of life and relieve the suffering of patients and their families. Since its origin in the UK's hospice movement during the 1960s, palliative care has become a medical specialty and multi-professional team service for patients and their families. It now exists on every continent, but is only in its infancy in many countries and entirely absent in others.

Other articles in this issue:

Strategic donor support is critical

Given that donor support for palliative care is not sustainable in the long term, donors need to take a strategic approach and work towards embedding palliative care into government health policy and practice. How can they best go about this?

Palliative care in Latin America

Is the WHO strategy working?

Over 20 years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) established pain relief and palliative care as components of its Cancer Control Programme. However, palliative care is still not available to millions of patients worldwide, including in Latin America.

Training health professionals in palliative care

Lessons from South Africa

Palliative care should be an integral part of every health care professional's role; education in palliative care forms the foundation of quality care for patients and their families.

Uganda's palliative care model for Africa

In Uganda a palliative care service has been successfully implemented in three districts with outreach to other parts of the country. The key to its success is that service is centered on the patient and focused on the quality of care rather than quantity.

Advocating a public health approach

National programmes for palliative care offer the most effective means of improving the quality of life for the greatest number of patients and families, even where resources are severely constrained. Palliative care, however, is low on the list of under-resourced governments' health care priorities. What part can advocacy play in raising its profile and promoting its value?

Palliative care and HIV management

Will palliative care become obsolete in the management of HIV? Evidence from the United Kingdom suggests not.

Poverty shouldn't mean poor quality palliative care

The increasing commercialisation of health care, decreasing public spending on health and the introduction of expensive high technology interventions are making basic health care less accessible to poor people living with incurable and chronic diseases. An experiment in Kerala, India has been trying to address this problem through interventions by community volunteers.

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