What Happens and What Matters: A study on Palliative and Terminal care in the Hospital (PalTeC-H)
Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Abstract: markdownabstract__Abstract__ \n \nPalliative and terminal care. \nIn 2002 the World Health Organization redefined palliative care as “an approach that \nimproves the quality of life of patients and their family facing the problems associated \nwith life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of \nearly identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, \nphysical, psychosocial and spiritual”. \nPalliative care can be provided at any time during a patient’s incurable illness, and may \nbe combined with disease-modifying and life-prolonging treatment. Although there \nis no consensus, neither in clinical practice, nor in scientific literature, on definitions of \n‘terminal phase’, ‘terminally ill’ and ‘end of life’, or on similar terms used to describe the \ncare at the end of life, these terms mostly are used for patients whose life expectancy is \nthree months or less. The dying phase is mostly described as the final hours or days of \nlife, when the patient is “actively dying”, and care for the dying as care provided during \nthese final moments. \nDemographic changes, especially the risen life expectancy, have contributed to an \nincrease in the number of elderly persons in our Western society. Since the last decade, \nthis results in a slowly increasing number of deaths each year in the Netherlands, i.e. from \n136.000 in 2005 to 141.000 in 2012. Of these deaths, 73.000 to 108.000 occur after a period \nof decline in health, and of palliative care, depending on how this is defined.
Author: Witkamp, Erica
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7016155698