Palliative care and intensive care integration

Abstract

With developments in technology and in healthcare policies in Turkey, both the quality and number of applications of care have increased in recent years in intensive care units. At the same time, rates of hospital mortality have increased due to the rise in the elderly population, changes in family structure, increased urban population and easier access to health facilities. Intensive care units are the places where deaths and functional and cognitive disorders are most frequently seen. Current models where intensive care and palliative care are integrated are seen as an important component of comprehensive care for patients with critical disease and who are receiving aggressive intensive care treatment. The goal in intensive care and palliative care integration is to promote better quality, lower cost, patient and family satisfaction. The aim of this review was to highlight the importance and necessity of palliative care applications in intensive care units. It can be concluded that an increase in palliative care training, legal regulations made related to end-of-life patient care and the implementation of palliative care in intensive care unit would provide more effective use of intensive care units.