Addressing insufficient access to palliative care: what stakeholders can do?

Abstract

Health care providers look at palliative care (PC) as an approach that “improves the quality of life of patients (both adult and children) and their families who are facing problems associated with life-threatening illness”. It has been, on the basis of findings of large-scale clinical trials, found that PC has the potential to prevent and relieve suffering through the early identification, correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems (whether physical and/or psychosocial in nature). Author of this research essay argues that adequately addressing suffering (resulting from pain) involves taking care of issues that are beyond physical symptoms. However, it is pertinent to note that significant proportions of population in many regions of the globe (who are in need) do not have adequate to PC owing to several factors. It is against this backdrop that the author of this work primarily aims to present an insight into strategic interventions required for adequately addressing insufficient access to PC. In terms of methodology, secondary data (largely ‘quantitative’ in nature) have been used, and method of data analysis is descriptive (involving “desk-based research”). This work briefly includes that addressing practical needs form priority on health developmental initiatives, with specific focus on “offering a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death”.