The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care: Advancing Hospice and Palliative Care Worldwide

Abstract

The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) is a membership-based organization dedicated to the development and improvement of hospice and palliative care worldwide. The mission of IAHPC is to improve the quality of life of adults and children with life-threatening conditions and their families. The vision of IAHPC is universal access to high-quality palliative care, integrated into all levels of health care systems in a continuum of care with disease prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment, to assure that any patient's or family caregiver's suffering is relieved to the greatest extent possible. IAHPC focuses on the advancement of four areas of palliative care: education, access to medicines, health policies, and service implementation. IAHPC works on three levels: at the grass roots, developing resources, and educational strategies that enable health workers to provide cost-effective palliative care; at the national level, working with government representatives to improve national policies to ensure adequate care and access to medicines; and at the international level, advocating with the UN organizations to ensure that access to palliative care and to essential medicines for palliative care and pain treatment is stipulated and incorporated as an obligation of member states.