Palliative Care: Origins, Principles, and Delivery in Practice

Palliative care
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Understanding of the origins and development of palliative care...............................................1
1.2 Understanding of the principles of palliative care....................................................................2
1.3 Understanding of the delivery of palliative care in practice........................................................3
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Modern day palliative care involves a holistic approach to enhance the quality of life of an
individual battling illness. The aim of the care is neither to enhance or compromise the term
of the illness but to ease the process of treating the illness be it physical, and psychosocial
or spiritual. It is focused on patient care and adapts to the needs of an individual, their
illness, and their habits by offering them a constant support mechanism and diffuses any
clinical complications at the same time. Through this body of work a detailed assessment of
the history and modern day provision of palliative care is discussed.
1.1 Understanding of the origins and development of palliative care
The historical perspective of management of illness included treatment practices and
masking the discomfort to make the illness a bearable experience. During the migration and
exploration phase in history, travellers with dire illness were catered in the homes of the
foreign lands. Especially the exploration towards the European and Middle East countries
where a maximum percentage of pilgrims were headed, the geriatric and sick persons were
housed by the locals and taken in for care. (Ciemins et al, 2015)
Earlier times the palliative care centres around the terminally sick and dying people and
medical records from different parts of Europe and UK trace this trend back to the 18th
century where the orders of medical care were given by religious authorities. By the wake of
early 19th century separate institutions were developed that were dedicated to the service
of the dying. In France, an institution for the social and dying was materialized in mid 19ty
century. The success f the same lead to the formation of more such institutions focussing
not just on the dying but also sick people in need for institutionalised care. In United States,
Rose Hawthorn Lathrop played a major role in forming the cancer care services institution
across the country.( Bishop, 2015) This model inspired the cancer care hospice in London in
1967, the St Christopher’s hospice that lead to the revolutionary plunging in the arena of
research and education. (Truman, 1995)
This was the start of the provision of palliative care in foreign lands that has now evolved
into its present form. The Hospice Movement from the 1970s picked up the momentum and
incorporated the care system with the cure system. (Lack, 1979) The compassionate service
towards the sick lead to the joined collaboration of the multidisciplinary teams of health and
social care services.
According to WHO, various study models of different demographic areas has been analysed.
There have been a considerable development in the increase in numbers of palliative care
centres in the United States, Australia, Japan, UK, European Union, and Peru with over 4.86-
681.20 providers are available per 1,000,000 population. (Alliance, and World Health
Organization, 2014) An estimated increase in the need of palliative care was also assessed
and the focused areas were China, India, Russia, South Africa, and South America. With the
continuous efforts in the right direction this feat can be achieved. (Lynch et al, 2013)
1.2 Understanding of the principles of palliative care