Palliative Care
Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on relief from pain and other symptoms of serious illness. Its goal is to improve quality of life for patients, families, and caregivers.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is provided by a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other specialists. It works alongside curative treatments, and is appropriate at any age and stage of a serious illness.
Is palliative care the same as hospice care?
Palliative care is not limited to end-of-life situations. Hospice care is a type of palliative care for those with a prognosis of six months or less and focuses exclusively on comfort rather than cure.
Who can benefit from palliative care?
Anyone with a serious or life-threatening illness, including but not limited to:
- Cancer
- Heart failure
- Cystic fibrosis
- ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Liver or kidney failure
- COPD and other lung diseases
- Parkinson’s disease
- Stroke
- HIV/AIDS
- Multiple sclerosis
Who makes up the palliative care team?
A multidisciplinary team may include:
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Social workers
- Mental health counselors
- Nutritionists
- Chaplains or spiritual care advisors
What does palliative care include?
Symptom management
Relief from pain, breathlessness, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and treatment side effects.
Education and decision support
Information about illness trajectory, treatment options, advance care planning, and advance directives.
Emotional and spiritual support
Counseling, chaplain visits, and help coping with stress, grief, and loss.
Family and caregiver support
Respite care planning, counseling, and help navigating financial, legal, and insurance concerns.
Where can you receive palliative care?
Settings include home, hospitals, outpatient clinics, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes.
How can you get palliative care?
- Discuss palliative care with your healthcare provider.
- Obtain a referral to a palliative care team.
- Verify insurance coverage and available services in your area.
- Begin palliative care alongside ongoing treatments.
Sources
- Center to Advance Palliative Care. What is palliative care? Accessed May 25, 2024.
- National Institute of Nursing Research. Palliative care information. Accessed May 25, 2024.
- Arnold RM, Kutner JS. Palliative care. In: Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Elsevier; 2024:Chap 3.
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Palliative vs. hospice care. Accessed May 25, 2024.
- World Health Organization. Palliative care overview. Accessed May 25, 2024.