Palliative Care and its Introduction
Discuss about the Prevalence of Palliative Care and Ethics.
Palliative care can be defined as an approach related to multiple areas of study to give medical care to those affected by life-limiting diseases. Palliative care was introduced during hospice time after realizing that many patients died even after being nursed because their pain was not properly managed. It pays attention to giving alleviation from symptoms and stress from fatal diagnosis. The main reason for palliative care is to improve the quality of life for the patient and their family members (Wiener & Weaver, 2016). It is usually provided by the medical specialists, health professionals and hospice staff in the health centers. It can also be provided at home and also during community programs. It is mostly provided at the end-life stage but it is not restricted to it. Any age can get palliative care during illness and t can also be carried out along with other curative measures management.
The purpose of palliative care is not to cure but reduce the pain brought about by a certain illness at a stage where no cure is expected. A treatment can be said to be palliative care only it does not provide a cure for the disease. For example, if a leg is broken a palliative specialist will use morphine to reduce the pain before the patient gets a professional in bone fracturing. Palliative care improves one’s quality of life through lessening stress from the current illness. It is even advisable to carry out palliative care before carrying out any complicated therapy to the illness (Wilson & Gagnon,2016). Palliative care reduces depression and increases the chances of surviving. There several features of people who require palliative care, first, if they are not able of taking care for themselves, two, if there is no benefit from the treatment given in the past, three, if no prove that cure will work out and if the patient cannot participate in any health trial.
There are similarities between the activities and the reasons to carry palliative care and doing hospice. They both aim at reducing the pain and stress from the patient and his family. The only difference between hospice and palliative care is that the patient getting hospice service has no solution to his illness but palliative care can be given out in any illness. Palliative care can be grouped into two clusters the children level palliative care and the adult palliative care. The objective of both palliative care is one and the same only that the children palliative care is carried out all the way from when a disease is diagnosed throughout the entire life. Palliative care can be introduced at any stage of growing to scare out any life-threatening condition during the child’s lifetime (Boss & Goloff, 2015).
Palliative Care as a Symptom Management Approach
Palliative care is usually given by well-trained personnel from different multidisciplinary teams such as doctors, dieticians, pastors, pharmacists, and nurses. They focus on spiritual, emotional, social and physical issues concerning the patient in hand. They also provide a way out and discuss the care given to a patient. These people may be found in a clinic, hospitals and in a long-term facility.
There are several issues which are addressed in palliative care depending on the needs of each specific partner. The first issue to address in each patient is the physical issue, there are common physical symptoms which include body suffering, body material failure, appetite, breathing problems, vomiting, nausea, and sleeplessness.
The second issue to address in palliative care is emotional and coping. Emotions such as fear, depression, anxiety, and fear can be dealt with in palliative care. The palliative care specialist gives out solutions to the partner and the family member on how to cope with these emotions. These emotions come with diseases such cancer and other chronic diseases (Australia, P. C., 2017).
Thirdly, the spiritual issue. With certain disease patients and families look at the meaning of their lives. Some diseases make patients get closer to their faith and spiritual beliefs. Some patients may also try to find out why there are infected by that disease. Palliative care specialist will help the patient and his family members to react appropriately to the situation and accept it as their part and move on with life. This will cater for both emotional and spiritual issues.
Fourth, the issues of caregiver needs. Family members have limited time compared to what they should do to make sure that their patient in living quality life. There are always many overwhelming responsibilities added on top of what they should do to earn living and provide medication to their patient. Caregivers can also get stress when they lack support so it is high time for a palliative care expert to help them to go through their situation in a peaceful way. Duties such as schooling, household duties and caring for the entire family become hard for the caregiver. These challenges may lead to poor health of the caregiver ( Pratt & Wood, 2015).
Fifth, practical needs. Family members will depend on palliative care expert when it comes to issues like financial cases, worries about insurance and work issues. They will also give the family members advice on the steps to take in order achieve the objective of palliative care. Palliative care experts should enhance communication among family members and the caregivers for easy coordination management.
Similarities and Differences between Hospice and Palliative Care
In order to increase the chances of cancer victim to live long palliative care should be introduced. This will reduce stress, depression and will cater for spiritual issues also. Palliative care specialist will also enhance the relationship between the patient end the family member. Members of the family will plan well on how to deal with other obligations alongside with the needs of the patient (Ferrell & Temel, 2014).
The World Health Organization gave several reason which exactly can make it reasonable to apply of palliative care. These reasons apply for both palliative care in children and adults. They include palliative care reduces pain and tormenting disease signals, it gives dying a normal look and gives life a reason to exist, it has no the intension to fasten of give death future chance, it includes in itself the patient right to spiritual involvement, helps the patient to enjoy their life up to their last minute of their life, it also give the family courage to cope with the patient’s situation in the right mood, palliative care believes in team work to approach need of the patient including counseling, palliative care also enhances and life a reason during the illness season and this makes the patient and his family to live positively. Palliative care is applicable at any stage of life alongside with other therapies to improve taste of life, these other therapies include radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and includes the strategies to manage the discomforting clinical problems which come up in life (Alliance, W. P. C., & WHO, 2014).
In conclusion application of palliative care has led to saving of dying lives and should be introduced regardless of how it expensive. It brings out the sense of life to end-life illness patients and gives caregivers solution to their needs and the patient’s needs. It is friendly to the environment yet there is no interference in any way. Each health center should introduce palliative care to any patient before treatment to see how life can be saved, people should also be acknowledged of palliative care the benefits of it and this will be a better move to save lives.
References
Alliance, W. P. C., & World Health Organization. (2014). Global atlas of palliative care at the end of life. London: Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance.
Australia, P. C. (2017). A Guide to Palliative Care Service Development: A population based approach. February 2005.
Boss, R. D., Falck, A., Goloff, N., Hutton, N., Miles, A., Shapiro, M., … & Pediatric Chronic Critical Illness Collaborative. (2018). Low prevalence of palliative care and ethics consultations for children with chronic critical illness. Acta Paediatrica.
Ferrell, B. R., Temel, van der Steen, J. T., Radbruch, L., Hertogh, C. M., de Boer, M. E., Hughes, J. C., Larkin, P., … & Koopmans, R. T. (2014). White paper defining optimal palliative care in older people with dementia: a Delphi study and recommendations from the European Association for Palliative Care. Palliative medicine, 28(3), 197-209.J. S., & Temin, S. (2017). Questions for Submitter. Clinical Oncology, 35(1), 96-112.
Kelley, A. S., & Morrison, R. S. (2015). Palliative care for the seriously ill. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(8), 747-755.
Pratt, M., & Wood, M. (2015). Art therapy in palliative care: The creative response. Routledge.
Wiener, L., Weaver, M. S., Bell, C. J., & Sansom-Daly, U. M. (2015).
Wilson, K. G., Dalgleish, T. L., Chochinov, H. M., Chary, S., Gagnon, P. R., Macmillan, K., … & Fainsinger, R. L. (2016). Mental disorders and the desire for death in patients receiving palliative care for cancer. BMJ Supportive & palliative care, 6(2), 170-177.
Zimmermann, C., Swami, N., Krzyzanowska, M., Hannon, B., Leighl, N., Oza, A., … & Donner, A. (2014). Early palliative care for patients with advanced cancer: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 383(9930), 1721-1730.
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