palliative care 1a Flashcards
Palliative
Care
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 Definition of Palliative
Care
provides relief from pain and other distressing
symptoms;
affirms life and regards dying as a normal process;
intends neither to hasten or postpone death;
integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of
patient care;
offers a support system to help patients live as
actively as possible until death;
palliative care offers a support system to help
the family cope during the patient’s illness and in their own bereavement;
palliative care uses a team approach to address
he needs of patients
and their families, including bereavement counselling,
if indicated;
palliative care will enhance
quality of life, and may also positively
influence the course of illness;
palliative care is applicable early
in the course of illness, in
conjunction with other therapies that are intended
to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation
therapy,
palliative care includes those investigations needed to better
understand and manage distressing clinical
complications.
Palliative care education is needed at three levels:
- Basic palliative care training for all health professionals;
- Intermediate training for those routinely working with
patients with life-threatening illnesses; - Specialist palliative care training to manage patients
with more than routine symptom management needs.
Middle Ages:
Religious orders establish “hospices”
These shelters helped pilgrims, many of whom
were traveling to these shrines seeking miraculous
cure of chronic and fatal illnesses, and many of
whom died while on their pilgrimages.
16th-18th Centuries
: Religious orders offer care to
the sick (including the dying) in locally or
regionally based institutions. Most people die at
home, cared for by the women in the family.
“Palliare” means
“cloak”
Palliative care began with a focus on
the care of
the dying.
She advocated that only an multi-disciplinary team
could relieve the
e “total pain” of a dying person in
the context of his or her family, and the team
concept is still at the core of palliative care
Changes in how western
society deals with death and
dying
Death has been institutionalised: in the past people
died at home, now they die in nursing homes or
hospitals.
The increasing use of medical technology to
prolong life.
The trend to live longer means that people are
dying of chronic illnesses
Causes of death in Australia
2018
The leading cause of death was Ischaemic heart disease.
This has decreased by 22.4% since 2009, with declines in
heart disease mortality observed now for more than 50
years.
Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, remained the second leading cause of death. Deaths due to dementia have increased by 68.6% since 2009
