Development of Palliative Care: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

Palliative care is an essential element of any health care system and a component of comprehensive and integrated care. Access to good palliative care is a basic human right. Palliative care has evolved since its modern foundation: the British Hospice model proposed building comprehensive models of care (responding to all dimensions of needs of patients). Palliative care has since spread into all the different settings of the health care systems. Key evolution of palliative care provision includes: • The design and implementation of public health models as national or regional palliative care programs, and the policy proposed by the WHO in the World Health Assembly Resolution WHA67.19 in 2014: “Strengthening of palliative care as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course.” • The shift from the institutional and late care of terminal cancer patients toward the timely community- and population-based perspective and links to chronic care models. • Initiatives ofcompassionate communities which aim at involving society to change attitudes toward end oflife and propose integrated care at the community level