Transforming End-of-Life Care

Abstract

CitationChung BY, Oh EH. Currently, hospice care which focuses on caring for a terminally ill person delivers holistic, supportive, interdisciplinary, and patient-centered management. There have been numerous efforts to establish hospice care for people who are in the end-stage of their illness.Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual (WHO). Hospice care which is a subset of palliative care focuses on controlling pain and other symptoms of illness so patients can remain as comfortable as possible near the end of life. The meaning of hospice care throughout this study is a supportive care to people in the final phase of a terminal illness and focus on comfort and quality of life.Hospice care for people with end-stage illnesses, which can involve complex endof-life care in a wide variety of settings, including bio-psycho-social symptom management, care related to cultural and ethical issues, bereavement care, and after-death care. Hospice care affects the end of life experience tremendously.1 However, let us consider hospice care at this time. Does hospice care really deliver the right care for people in the endstage of their lives? What level of hospice care do most hospice patients receive? How many people can be supported with hospice care by the government for a dignified death? For how long is hospice care required for an appropriate or good death? How much respect is there for the human rights of people in hospice care?Human dignity and human rights in end-of-life care are very important in terms of a person's identity and values, and they are accorded to and respected in everyone using hospice care services. [2][3][4][5] It is the responsibility of every hospice professional to know how to provide high quality care to people with end-stage illnesses in view of their human dignity. [5][6][7] This paper provides an overview of transforming end-of-life care. It describes not only the highest quality care for people who have had a life-limiting illness but also the trends of preparation for death, respect for the free will of people, receiving professional hospice care, and quality care after death.The goal of this paper is to contribute to the development of future hospice care from the perspective of the dignity of people. Much needs to be improved in areas such as hospice philosophy and practical support for transforming end-of-life care. HIGHEST QUALITY CAREThe highest quality care in Hospice refers to the quality, compassionate care of people facing life-limiting illnesses. Compassionate care is also holistic care. People facing life-limiting illnesses need compassionate access to a more systematic way to meet their holistic needs. Compassionate care becomes a strong and powerful interaction that encourages the...