Palliative care

Palliative care aims to prevent and relieve health related suffering of adults, children and their families facing problems associated with life-threatening illness. It is based on a comprehensive and person-centred approach, addressing physical, psychological, social and spiritual suffering. Providing equitable and timely access to good palliative care is an ethical duty shared by public health stakeholders and health care workers. Integrated palliative care is part of Universal Health Coverage and is an essential function of Primary Health Care. Special attention has to be given to monitor the quality of palliative care and to asses progresses made in answering people needs and expectations.

Publications

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Living guidance for clinical management of COVID-19

The WHO COVID-19 Clinical management: living guidance contains the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for the clinical management of...

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Quality health services and palliative care: practical approaches and resources to support policy, strategy and practice

As countries commit to achieving universal health coverage, it is imperative to ensure that the design and delivery of palliative care services place attention...

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Assessing the development of palliative care worldwide: a set of actionable indicators provides a refined set of actionable indicators that can be...

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Integrating palliative care and symptom relief into primary health care

The World Health Assembly has resolved that palliative care is “an ethical responsibility of health systems” and that integration of palliative...

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Why palliative care is an essential function of primary health care

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Integrating palliative care and symptom relief into paediatrics

People younger than 20 years comprise 35% of the global population and 40% of the global population of least-developed nations. The number of children...

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