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Palliative Care, Toward a More Responsive Definition

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Textbook of Palliative Care

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of palliative care requires clarification. While it has been interpreted as limiting its purview to people facing life-threatening illness, this definition makes little sense in low- and middle-income countries where the means to prevent and relieve any suffering are limited, including in people without a life-threatening illness. The most basic principle of palliative care, prevention and relief of suffering, requires that palliative care conform to the needs of the people it serves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Eric L. Krakauer

  2. Center for Palliative Care, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Eric L. Krakauer

  3. Division of Palliative Care and Geriatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Eric L. Krakauer

  4. Department of Palliative Care, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Eric L. Krakauer

Authors
  1. Eric L. Krakauer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric L. Krakauer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine,Palliative Care, HammondCare, The University of Sydney School of Medicine, Sydney, Australia

    Roderick Duncan MacLeod

  2. VUB-UGhent End-of-Life Care Research Group, Department of Family Medicine and Chronic Care and Department of Clinical Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium

    Lieve Van den Block

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Krakauer, E.L. (2019). Palliative Care, Toward a More Responsive Definition. In: MacLeod, R., Van den Block, L. (eds) Textbook of Palliative Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77740-5_1

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