PALLIATIVE CARE
BROAD OBJECTIVES
Definition of palliative care
Ways on how clients can be enrolled in palliative care
Management of palliative care
INTRODUCTION
Palliative care is a type of health care that focuses on providing relief
from the symptoms , pain and stress of serious illness , rather carrying
the illness Itself.
The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life for a patient
and their families including the general public in the society
WAYS ON HOW CLIENTS CAN BE
ENROLLED IN PALLIATIVE CARE
1. REFERRAL PROCESS
The health care provider can refer a patient to a palliative care team
because of serious life - threatening illness. It involves three stages namely;
Identification of eligible clients
Referral to palliative care team
Initial assessment
Cont……………..
2. CLIENT AND FAMILY EDUCATION
A palliative care team provides education to client and his/her family
concerning benefits or significance of palliative care and its main goals of
providing such care to the client. The following are some among other
benefits and goals of palliative care respectively ;
Improved quality of life
Emotional an spiritual support
Relieve suffering
Respect patient autonomy
Conti…………………….
3. CARE PLANINNG AND AGREEMENT
Care plan refers to a set of comprehensive nursing strategies to
resolve/support nursing diagnoses identified
Outlines the nursing care to be provided to an individual/family/community
and one of its purpose serves to direct the activities of the nursing staffs in
the provision of patient care
Below are the components of a well formulated care plan; problem , nursing
diagnosis , goal , nursing intervention , nursing rationale , evaluation and
replaning where necessary
Conti……………………
4. FAMILY AND CAREGIVER SUPPORT
Health care provider should recognize challenges faced by caregivers and
offer resources , education and support to help them navigate the caregiving
journey.
To ensure holistic care , family members available and the health care
providers must colaborate and effectively communicate since relatives are
also a primary source of subjective data the provider will need before any
intervention
Conti……………….
ENROLLMENT AND INTEGRATION
The client is officially enrolled in the palliative care program
Ongoing care may be provided in various settings e.g home , hospital or long
term care facility
The team coordinate with the clients primary health care provider to ensure
seemless care
cont
Clients and family support
The palliative care team provide ongoing support to the clients and
their family including emotion and spiritual support .
The following are the examples of emotion and spiritual support
renspectivery
Active listening
Chaplaincy services
cont
Collaboration with healthcare provider
The palliative care team collaborates with the clients healthcare
provider to ensure comprehensive and coordinated care
For example communication insures effective communication among
healthcare provider patient and families.
MANAGEMENT OF PALLIATIVE
CARE
Management of physical symptoms
Management of physical symptoms is done in three main ways as
discussed as follows;
1. PAIN MANAGEMENT
Uses a variety of medication and intervention such as use of analgesics including;
Opioid analgesics i.e ibuprofen , diclofenac , aspirin , acetaminophen(paracetamol) etc
Non – opioid analgesics i.e morphine , fentanyl , codeine etc
2. SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
It involves use of medications to manage or bring a relief to the identified
symptoms. These may vary depending on the situation with symptoms such as
vomiting , constipation etc
Cont………………
3. WOUND MANAGEMENT
Provides wound care and management to prevent infection and foster
healing process
MANAGEMENT OF PYSCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS
1. COUNSELLING
Provides counselling and therapy to help patients to cope with their illness and its
impacts
2. MIND- BODY THERAPIES
These include meditation and yoga to help patients manage stress and enxiety
Cont……………
3. SUPPORT GROUPS
Offer support groups for patients and their families to provide emotional support
and connections
MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL SUPPORT
4. FAMILY SUPPORT
Provide support and guidance to families to help them care for their loved ones
2. SPIRITUAL SUPPORT
Offer spiritual support and guidance to patients and their families to help them
cope with their illness and its impact
CONT………………..
3. ADVANCED CARE PLANNING
Help patients and their families to plan for the future including advanced
directives and end- of -life care
Cont…………………
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative
Medicine. (2019). __Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Core Curriculum__ (2nd ed.). American Academy of
Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Cont………………….
1. Management of psychological and emotional symptom
cont
