Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care in the Community What Can We Focus on? / 日本農村医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

The goal of palliative care is to soothe or relieve the patients with serious illness of their suffering and to improve the quality of their life. It integrates the physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of patient care into a comprehensive whole. Doctors and other medical workers talk with the patients by providing appropriate information and explanations and care should be carried out according to the patients' wishes. The care team should confirm their wishes at every opportunity since the patients' wishes can change with time. The presenters who were actually involved in medical care or nursing care discussed how to solve the problems of palliative care and end-of-life care.