Public Health and Palliative Care
Section snippets
Traditional public health roots
Traditionally public health has played great attention to maternity, birth, and childhood illness, all of which were important in society. The needs of disadvantaged communities, such as the homeless, economically deprived, disabled, elderly, and minority ethnic communities, also feature highly in public health reports. The prevention of disease, whether primary, secondary, or tertiary was the initial focus of much public health attention. When infectious disease was prevalent, public health
Changes in population
The challenges for public health change as the population changes and causes of morbidly and mortality shift. Over the past century in developed countries, longevity has improved, largely because of the defeat of many of the killers of the past. The causes of death have changed, altering the nature of death. More people are dying from serious chronic diseases rather than from acute illnesses. For example, in 1900 in many countries, including in Europe and North America, the leading causes of
More cost-effective solutions
The increased costs of health care generally, and in particular the high costs of high-tech care used often up until death, have intensified debate around care at the end of life. In the United Kingdom, 22% of bed days are occupied by people in their last year of life [44]. In the United States, 10% to 12% of total health care costs are spent on the end of life [45]. Although less than 5% of Medicare recipients die each year, the costs of services in the last year of life represents 25% of the
Summary
For a multitude of reasons, palliative care is an important health issue. It represents a significant burden of illness and cost to the community, suffers from inequities in access, and is set to be a major health concern for the future. What is surprising is the lack of public emphasis on palliative care, the gaps in implementing what is effective and in training professionals, and the vast deficits in research support to find effective solutions. What is needed now is a concerted effort by
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Cited by (44)
Influences on emergency department attendance among frail older people with deteriorating health: a multicentre prospective cohort study
2021, Public HealthCitation Excerpt :Described as the ‘disadvantaged dying’, older people experience under-assessment of symptoms and lower access to specialist palliative care services.2,3 This is recognised as an important public health issue.4 A challenge for the clinical management of frail older people is the unpredictability of their illness trajectory.5
Hospice and Palliative Care
2016, International Encyclopedia of Public HealthA social capital framework for palliative care: Supporting health and well-being for people with life-limiting illness and their carers through social relations and networks
2013, Journal of Pain and Symptom ManagementCitation Excerpt :The social capital literature provides a framework of causally related definitions, levels, and domains that provide insights into how benefits in the social milieu might be accrued. The public health approach is an emerging focus in the palliative care literature,14–16 and although social capital sits within this new discourse, it has had limited investigation specifically. Social capital is a distinct concept within public health, explicitly characterizing social systems and supporting a link between the structural (social stratification) and intermediary (social circumstance) social determinants of health,17 and offers new insights into community development and health promotion approaches.18
Sustainable implementation of advance care planning in Asia: An interpretive-systemic framework for national development
2021, Palliative and Supportive CareConceptual Barriers to Palliative Care and Enlightenment from Chuang-tze's Thoughts
2020, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare EthicsDeveloping the Future End-of-Life Health Care Workforce: Lessons Learned From a Survey of Advanced Health Professions Students
2022, American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine