Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2018
Retraction Of PublicationThe International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC): Advancing Hospice and Palliative Care Worldwide.
The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) is a membership-based organization dedicated to the development and improvement of hospice and palliative care worldwide. The mission of IAHPC is to improve the quality of life of adults and children with life-threatening conditions and their families. ⋯ IAHPC focuses on the advancement of four areas of palliative care: education, access to medicines, health policies, and service implementation. IAHPC works on three levels: at the grass roots, developing resources, and educational strategies that enable health workers to provide cost-effective palliative care; at the national level, working with government representatives to improve national policies to ensure adequate care and access to medicines; and at the international level, advocating with the UN organizations to ensure that access to palliative care and to essential medicines for palliative care and pain treatment is stipulated and incorporated as an obligation of member states.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2018
Retraction Of PublicationPalliative Care in Vietnam: Long-term Partnerships Yield Increasing Access.
Palliative care began in Vietnam in 2001, but steady growth in palliative care services and education commenced several years later when partnerships for ongoing training and technical assistance by committed experts were created with the Ministry of Health, major public hospitals, and medical universities. An empirical analysis of palliative care need by the Ministry of Health in 2006 was followed by national palliative care clinical guidelines, initiation of clinical training for physicians and nurses, and revision of opioid prescribing regulations. ⋯ Work is underway to test the hypothesis that insurance coverage of palliative home care not only can improve patient outcomes but also provide financial risk protection for patients' families and reduce costs for the health care system by decreasing hospital admissions near the end of life. A national palliative care policy and strategic plan are needed to maintain progress toward universally accessible cost-effective palliative care services.
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Globally, low- and middle-income countries are home to 70% of cancer deaths and 99% of HIV deaths, but they consume just 7% of opioid analgesics. ⋯ Treat the Pain is supporting governments in Sub-Saharan Africa to reduce needless suffering and improve access to essential pain medicines for patients in pain by supporting the expansion of locally produced, affordable oral morphine solution and expanding basic training in pain assessment and management.
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In 2014, 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide including 400,000 co-infected with HIV. TB remains a major cause of death and suffering globally, in spite of the fact that it is supposed to be a curable disease. Drug resistant forms of TB have developed as a result of poor treatment compliance including multi-drug and extreme drug resistant forms that take longer to treat and have higher likelihoods of treatment failure. ⋯ This article describes the progress made in the last six years and the barriers remaining. A training curriculum was developed, courses conducted at major TB conferences (Union Lung Health), several publications produced, model programs identified, and comprehensive clinical guidelines developed. There remain significant barriers including lack of awareness and a major need for resources to deliver PC education to the TB workforce and the PC community to realize World Health Organization's goal of zero suffering for TB patients.
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Georgia has established the foundational measures for a national palliative care program-policy, education, drug availability, and implementation. Amendments to legislation needed to develop palliative care have been approved. Palliative care has been recognized as a subspecialty in oncology, critical care, internal medicine, and surgery. ⋯ Opioids for cancer patients in inpatient units or at home are free. Palliative care education has been incorporated into both undergraduate and postgraduate medical and nursing education and a number of physicians have received specialist training abroad. Palliative Care Standards and Guidelines have been developed; and palliative care services, although insufficient to meet the need, are available for patients at home, as inpatients and a children's hospice opened in 2017.