Palliative care is appropriate for individuals with serious illnesses across the age spectrum and can be provided as the main goal of care or in tandem with curative treatment. It is provided by an interdisciplinary team which can include physicians, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, chaplains, and dietitians. Palliative care can be provided in a variety of contexts, including hospitals, outpatient, skilled-nursing, and home settings. Although an important part of end-of-life care, palliative care is not limited to individuals near the end of life. [1] Each year an estimated56.8 millionpeople are in need of palliative care,mostof whom live in low- and middle-income countries. For children, 98% of those needing palliative care live in low- and middle-income countries with almost half of them living in Africa. According to a WHO survey relating to noncommunicable diseases conducted among 194 Member States in 2019: funding for palliative care was available in 68% of countries and only 40% of countries reported that the services reached at least half of patients in need (1). Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care: A national framework for local action 2021-2026" (PDF). National Palliative and End of Life Care Partnership. May 2021 . Retrieved 20 April 2022.

Symptom management support. Palliative care specialists may help people with symptom management and pain management, according to a 2017 review on people living with advanced cancer. building evidence of models of palliative care that are effective in low- and middle-income settings. For resources related to end of life care and COVID-19, visit the dedicated section on our COVID-19 Resource Hub. Hardelid P, Dattani N, Gilbert R (August 2014). "Estimating the prevalence of chronic conditions in children who die in England, Scotland and Wales: a data linkage cohort study". BMJ Open. 4 (8): e005331. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005331. PMC 4127921. PMID 25085264. ; Lay summary in: "Most children with life-limiting conditions still die in hospital, not home or hospice". 20 July 2021. doi: 10.3310/alert_46991. S2CID 242843746.Physical pain can be managed using pain medications as long as they do not put the patient at further risk for developing or increasing medical diagnoses such as heart problems or difficulty breathing. [43] Patients at the end of life can exhibit many physical symptoms that can cause extreme pain such as dyspnea [44] (or difficulty breathing), coughing, xerostomia (dry mouth), nausea and vomiting, constipation, fever, delirium, and excessive oral and pharyngeal secretions (" Death Rattle"). [45] encouraging adequate resources for palliative care programmes and research, especially in resource-limited countries; and

Ahluwalia SC, Chen C, Raaen L, Motala A, Walling AM, Chamberlin M, O'Hanlon C, Larkin J, Lorenz K, Akinniranye O, Hempel S (December 2018). "A Systematic Review in Support of the National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, Fourth Edition". Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 56 (6): 831–870. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.09.008. PMID 30391049. S2CID 53217269. Longer survival. The same review suggests that depression and mortality may be linked, which may mean longer survival in people with advanced cancer who receive palliative care. Palliative care for cardiovascular disease may help symptom relief, mental health support, and decision making for people with these diseases and their families. It may also include help with end-of-life planning, should that be needed. Palliative care for dementiaCollins JJ, Byrnes ME, Dunkel IJ, Lapin J, Nadel T, Thaler HT, etal. (May 2000). "The measurement of symptoms in children with cancer". Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 19 (5): 363–377. doi: 10.1016/S0885-3924(00)00127-5. PMID 10869877. Assessing preferences for decision making. Medical decision making in a pediatric setting is unique in that it is often the child's legal guardians, not the patient, who ultimately consent for most medical treatments. Yet within a palliative care setting, it is particularly consequential to incorporate the child's preferences within the ultimate goals of care. Equally important to consider, families may vary in the level of responsibility they want in this decision-making process. [84] Their preference may range from wanting to be the child's sole decision makers, to partnering with the medical team in a shared decision making model, to advocating for full deferral of decision-making responsibility to the clinician. [84] Palliative care providers clarify a family's preferences and support needs for medical decision making by providing context, information, and options for treatment and medical palliation. In the case of critically ill babies, parents are able to participate more in decision making if they are presented with options to be discussed rather than recommendations by the doctor. Utilizing this style of communication also leads to less conflict with doctors and might help the parents cope better with the eventual outcomes. [85] [86]

a b Zhukovsky D (2019). Primer of Palliative Care. American Association of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. ISBN 9781889296081.Assess how the child perceives their symptoms (based on personal views) to create individualized care plans.

Radiation is commonly used with palliative intent to alleviate pain in patients with cancer. As an effect from radiation may take days to weeks to occur, patients dying a short time following their treatment are unlikely to receive benefit. [46] Psychosocial pain and anxiety [ edit ] Woodrell CD, et al. (2018). Palliative care for people with hepatocellular carcinoma, and specific benefits for older adults. a b Cassell EJ (2004). The nature of suffering and the goals of medicine (2nded.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 1-60256-743-3. OCLC 173843216. Caregivers, both family and volunteers, are crucial to the palliative care system. Caregivers and people being treated often form lasting friendships over the course of care. As a consequence caregivers may find themselves under severe emotional and physical strain. Opportunities for caregiver respite are some of the services hospices provide to promote caregiver well-being. Respite may last a few hours up to several days (the latter being done by placing the primary person being cared for in a nursing home or inpatient hospice unit for several days). [100]Quality of Death Index 2015: Ranking palliative care across the world". The Economist Intelligence Unit. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020 . Retrieved 8 October 2015 ; "UK end-of-life care 'best in world' ". BBC. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020 . Retrieved 8 October 2015. Palliative care is defined by the World Health Organisation as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients (adults and children) and their families who are facing problems associated with life-limiting illness, usually progressive. It prevents and relieves suffering through the early identification, correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems whether physical, psychosocial or spiritual.