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Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients
and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening
illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early
identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other
problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. Palliative care:
• provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms;
• affirms life and regards dying as a normal process;
• intends neither to hasten nor postpone death;
• integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient
care;
• offers a support system to help patients live as actively as
possible until death;
• offers a support system to help the family cope during the
patients' illness and in their own bereavement;
• uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their
families, including bereavement counseling, if indicated;
• will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence
the course of illness;
• is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction
with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy
or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better
understand and manage distressing clinical complications.
WHO Definition of Palliative Care for Children
Palliative care for children represents a special, albeit closely related
field to adult palliative care. WHO’s definition of palliative care
appropriate for children and their families is as follows; the principles
apply to other pediatric chronic disorders (WHO; 1998a):
• Palliative care for children is the active total care of the
child's body, mind and spirit, and also involves giving support to the
family.
• It begins when illness is diagnosed, and continues regardless
of whether or not a child receives treatment directed at the disease.
• Health providers must evaluate and alleviate a child's physical,
psychological, and social distress.
• Effective palliative care requires a broad multidisciplinary
approach that includes the family and makes use of available community
resources; it can be successfully implemented even if resources are
limited.
• It can be provided in tertiary care facilities, in community
health centers and even in children's homes.
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