Health care of the elderly

Abstract

World Health Organization defines palliative care as “An approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems 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.” Hospice care, a model of palliative care, aims to help terminally ill patients cope with the psychological aspects associated with end of life while providing optimal symptom management. Faith and spirituality have a key role to play in end-of-life care which may allow patients to adapt to the accompanying stress better. Preferred place of death is also an important component of hospice care. While death at home may be associated with less emotional stress, this decision should take into account the quality of care that can be provided at home. In the developing world where there is a lack of formal setup of hospice care, physicians hold an additional responsibility of attending to all dimensions of a “dying” patient and assuming a holistic approach in the management of such patients.