Palliative Care: Origins, Principles, and Delivery in Practice

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................1
1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of origins and development of palliative care.....................2
2. Principles of palliative care..................................................................................................................3
3. Delivery of palliative care in practice...................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION
The World Health Organization has defined Palliative Care in 2002 as, “an approach that improves the quality of life of
patients and their families facing the problems 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” (Gómez-Batiste, 2012). The origins and development of this modern concept of
palliative care and how it aids in providing a proper care to terminally ill patients will be discussed further through a
thorough understanding of the care principles and their application.

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1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of origins and development of palliative care
The palliative care is the specialized care provided to people with fatal and terminal illness. Such a care is directed
towards the patients whose disease becomes so advanced that it becomes unresponsive to any curative measure.
In this phase of one’s life the main aim or the primary goal is achieving better quality of life and palliative care strives for
providing it to the patients. Since the curative measures towards the diseases of these people have failed to provide the
cure this palliative care does not aim to cure the illness but, aims to comfort by relieving the pain and distress, both
physical and psychological, of these terminal illnesses to provide a sound remaining period of life they have. It also
provides an emotional support to the patients, families and closed ones in approaching death and healing grief.
The palliative or the hospice care was introduced by Dame Cicely Saunders in 1948, who began her work with the
terminally ill and also worked towards the palliative care and founded the first modern hospice, the St. Christopher’s
Hospice in London in 1967 (Pratt and Wood, 2015).
From 1967 the palliative care has made developments and advances at a rapid pace and it has completely changed the
overall concept of treating the people with illnesses which are life-limiting. An inter-professional and multidisciplinary
approach works to offer a better quality of life to the people dying from a fatal illness by providing a holistic emotional,
physical and spiritual care along with control of pain and symptoms.

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After the establishment of St. Christopher’s Hospice the revolution in care for terminally ill people initiated. The dean of
Yale University, Florence Wald, got influenced with the work of Dame Cicely and after closely observing and learning
about the working of hospice, founded the Connecticut Hospice in Branford, Connecticut in the year 1974. With the
increase in awareness for the palliative care the government initiatives came forward in support of the hospice care
which in 1993 accepted and included it as a part of healthcare continuum (NHPCO, 2016).
The palliative or hospice care facility has expanded into a worldwide movement and has changed the perception of life
ending conditions changing the way healthcare approaches towards such people more towards providing with a
peaceful and calm terminal life. It has helped shifting the care from general towards the specialized end of life care and
provisions directed towards enhancing the life of patients, the cares and the families.
2. Principles of palliative care
The world health organization has also outlines few principles which determine the palliative care provided to the
people. These include:
 Providing relief from pain and distress due to multiple factors like the symptoms of illness or due to an
emotional breakdown from the debilitating disease.
 Regarding death and process of dying as a normal- it emphasizes on making the people and related closed ones
understand that death is a process that happens to every living being and living the rest of the period of life
qualitatively is of key importance. The strong emotional support palliative care provides help people tackle the
situation in a better and positive manner.