The Implementation and Advancement of Palliative Care Nursing in Turkey

Abstract

Over the last two decades the need for palliative care services has risen in the Middle East and surrounding countries, such as Turkey, driven largely by a dramatic increase in patients' needs for late phase cancer care outside the walls of acute care centers. Nurses in Turkey are central to ensuring that the majority of these patients and families receive the highest quality palliative care possible. This manuscript describes the scope of palliative care nursing in Turkey highlighting pertinent legislation and the response of nursing education to provide quality care to patients and families in need. In order to describe in full the issues in providing palliative nursing care, the following areas are explored: (1) historical aspects of palliative care in Turkey, (2) organizational and legislative issues, (3) responses of educational programs, and (4) the research and clinical practice issues that impact palliative nursing care in Turkey. Conclusions are drawn and implications for the advancement of palliative nursing care in Turkey are discussed.