Current Status of Palliative Care--Clinical Implementation, Education, and Research

Abstract

Palliative and end-of-life care is changing in the United States. This dynamic field is improving care for patients with serious and life-threatening cancer through creation of national guidelines for quality care, multidisciplinary educational offerings, research endeavors, and resources made available to clinicians. Barriers to implementing quality palliative care across cancer populations include a rapidly expanding population of older adults who will need cancer care and a decrease in the workforce available to give care. Methods of integrating current palliative care knowledge into care of patients include multidisciplinary national education and research endeavors, and clinician resources. Acceptance of palliative care as a recognized medical specialty provides a valuable resource for improvement of care. Although compilation of evidence for the importance of palliative care specialities is in its initial stages, national research grants have provided support to build the knowledge necessary for appropriate palliative care. Opportunities are available to clinicians for understanding and applying appropriate palliative and end-of-life care to patients with serious and life-threatening cancers.

Cuidado Paliativo e Diretrizes Curriculares: Inclusão Necessária

“…Por meio destas informações é possível cuidar da pessoa em si, e não somente do processo patológico que a acomete. Educar o aluno nesta perspectiva facilita o rompimento com o modelo centrado na doença para o centrado na pessoa 11,16,17 .…”

Nursing Education in Palliative Care in Iran

“…As a specialization in medical sciences, palliative care is a dynamic discipline with a multidisciplinary nature that requires interdisciplinary group work on the part of doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, nutritionists and rehabilitation professionals; however, the amount of support from each of the disciplines varies from one institution to another [4]. In order to be able to provide for the needs of the patients and their families, it is necessary for palliative care to change its current disease-oriented approach to a patientoriented one.…”

“…Providing palliative care to patients with cancer requires skill training and research [4]. Teaching palliative care, particularly to nurses and doctors, is crucial to this purpose.…”

“…In order to be able to provide for the needs of the patients and their families, it is necessary for palliative care to change its current disease-oriented approach to a patientoriented one. The patient-oriented approach requires a greater focus on care and a greater coordination among specialists from different disciplines as well as a greater availability of nurses and doctors specialized in palliative care [4].…”

“…These factors include the massive problems the patients have to deal with due to cancer, the nurses' inadequate knowledge of a patient-oriented relationship, overcrowded departments and imbalance in the nurse to patient ratio [6]. An obviously malfunctioning aspect of care is the lack of appropriate relationships established with the patients that takes account of their care needs and priorities [4]. Nurses can be trained at different levels and through different methods.…”