Peculiarities of Providing Palliative Care to Tuberculosis Patients

Abstract

The data from literary sources (the electronic database of medical publications PubMed) have been summarized to highlight contemporary concepts of providing palliative care and recent statistics regarding the provision of palliative care to tuberculosis patients in Ukraine were analyzed. Objective of this analysis was to highlight problematic issues and aspects that require improvement in the field of providing palliative care to tuberculosis patients in Ukraine.The problem of tuberculosis remains relevant today. Despite significant achievements in the fight against tuberculosis, the effectiveness of treating this disease in Ukraine does not reach the target set by the WHO. The issue of drug-resistant tuberculosis remains acute. Individuals with tuberculosis and their families face a range of physical, socio-economic, and psychological challenges associated with the illness, which dimi­nish their quality of life and require a comprehensive approach to address them. Therefore, according to modern concepts, an important component of managing patients with tuberculosis, especially drug-resistant forms, is palliative care. The modern concept of palliative medicine envisions the earliest possible initiation of palliative care for patients with indications as early as possible, simultaneously with curative therapy, gradually increasing the scope of palliative care interventions until completely replacing curative treatment as the disease progresses. Early integration of palliative care for tuberculosis patients enhances the quality of life for patients and their families, promoting better adherence to etiotropic treatment.For the further development and improvement of the palliative care system for tuberculosis at the state level, the resolution of the following issues is necessary: ensuring the integration of palliative care services at all levels of medical care; strengthening and expansion of personnel potential in matters of palliative care; improvement and implementation of guidelines for integrated palliative care for tuberculosis at all levels of care; integration of palliative care into the program management system of drug-resistant tuberculosis from the first day of diagnosis; ensuring sustainable and comprehensive access of people suffering from tuberculosis to essential medicines for providing palliative care; improving the quality of providing psychological assistance to patients and their families.