Abstract
Palliative care offers children who have life-limiting and life-threatening oncologic illnesses and their families improved quality of life. In some instances, impeccable symptom control can lead to improved survival. Cultural and financial barriers to palliative care in oncology patients occur in all countries, and those located in Central America are no exception. In this article, we summarize how the programs participating in the Asociación de Hemato-Oncólogos Pediatras de Centro America (AHOPCA) have developed dedicated oncology palliative care programs. The experience in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic and Haiti is detailed, with a focus on history, the barriers that have impeded progress, and achievements. Future directions, which, of course, may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, are described as well.
Highlights
The primary goal of palliative care (PC) is to provide comprehensive, holistic care to children and their family, with the aim of improving quality of life of adults and children with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses [1], through the prevention and early detection of suffering that is related to the disease and treatment
Because of the need to improve the multidisciplinary approach to pediatric oncology patients, the Fundación Ayúdame a Vivir pro-Niños con Cáncer de El Salvador (FAV) opened dedicated unit space to provide Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) support to outpatients twice a week; early in 2011, support became available on weekdays
Palliative care is a specialty dedicated to improve the quality of life for patients with life-threatening conditions; in this case, in the pediatric oncology population
Summary
The primary goal of palliative care (PC) is to provide comprehensive, holistic (physical, psychological, emotional, social and spiritual) care to children and their family, with the aim of improving quality of life of adults and children with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses [1], through the prevention and early detection of suffering that is related to the disease and treatment It follows that many conditions encountered during childhood that lead to health-related suffering could benefit from this approach [2,3]. There are many barriers to the implementation of PPC programs, including the lack of public health policies, lack of education and training for health professionals, and the availability of essential pain medications in some regions. We describe how palliative care programs were established in each of the countries participating in AHOPCA, and how they impact healthcare delivery at a national level
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