Opinions

Palliative care advocacy using the international human rights framework

The modern human rights movement has played an increasingly important role in establishing the duty of governments to make effective health services available without restriction or discrimination.(07/10/08) Read more....

The jury is back!

The jury is back with a verdict: PEPFAR has been a great success. Yes, there may be problems, headaches, struggles, and frustrations, but, at the end of the day, nearly two million people are receiving antiretroviral treatment that otherwise wouldn’t, palliative care in Africa has been given a big boost in resources, and a new standard for international health assistance has been set. (22/09/08) Read more....

Millions of bucket lists .

I recently had the dubious pleasure of watching the Hollywood actors, Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman, traverse the Kenyan savannah in a four-by-four car whilst singing a discordant refrain from The Lion Sleeps Tonight in their poignant film The Bucket List. As the song faded, I found myself reflecting on the concept of ‘the list’ and its applicability to the average African with a life-limiting illness. (11/06/08) Read more....

Partnerships - the key to success?

When we conducted a review of the status of palliative care in Africa a few years ago, we found that while there was a huge amount of progress and expertise on the ground, there was very little evidence that could persuade policy makers and funders, and influence clinical practice Harding & Higginson, 2005. (27/03/08) Read more....

Measuring patient and family outcomes in palliative care in Africa

When we conducted a review of the status of palliative care in Africa a few years ago, we found that while there was a huge amount of progress and expertise on the ground, there was very little evidence that could persuade policy makers and funders, and influence clinical practice Harding & Higginson, 2005. (27/03/08) Read more....

Leadership in palliative care

Palliative care is therapy that focuses on decreasing pain and suffering by providing treatments for relief of pain and other symptoms along with comfort for patients of all ages and diseases and support for their families.(26/03/08) Read more....

Supporting palliative care development through education

The Public Health Strategy for Palliative Care suggests that four things are needed in order to develop palliative care services: policy; drug availability; education; and implementation Stjernsward et al, 2007.(24/01/08) Read more....

Cancer and palliative care:The way forward post -Afrox

Cancer is currently responsible for more than 7 million deaths per year; more than malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS combined. By 2020 there are expected to be 15 million new cases of cancer every year, 70 per cent of which will be in developing countries where governments are least prepared to address the growing cancer burden.(23/10/07) Read More....

Ageing with diginity

As a consequence of increased life expectancy, it is estimated that the number of older people (defined by the United Nations as those people aged 60 years and above), will more than triple globally by 2050, increasing from 606 million in 2000 to a projected 1.9 billion.(12/12/07) Read More....

Bereavement in palliative care: More than just a postscript

The WHO definition of palliative care includes bereavement through ‘[offering] a support system to help the family cope during the patient’s illness and in their bereavement’ (Sepulveda et al., 2002). Bereavement is, however, not mentioned in the WHO paediatric palliative care definition, nor is it part of the PEPFAR definition of palliative care.(23/10/07) Read More....

The digital gap in African palliative care

Innocent Mutumbi is a frustrated man. Working as a support nurse in a small, home-based palliative care service operating in rural Malawi, he has spent the last three hours trying to connect to his local Internet Service Provider (ISP). (01/06/07) Read more....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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