What Is Palliative Care? Definition, Types, and More

Every year, around 56.8 million people need palliative care [1]. Globally, only 14 per cent of those who need palliative care currently receive it [1].

Palliative care refers to specialised medical care for people diagnosed with a grave illness such as cancer or heart disease, and it can be integral to a patient’s healing process. Alongside curative treatment, palliative care can enhance the patient’s quality of life.

The Latin root word is palliat, which means “cloaked.” In a sense, palliative care acts as a healing cloak for a patient’s pain.

Learn about palliative care, including types, benefits, and the vital role it plays.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care refers to the specialised medical care given to patients diagnosed with a serious illness, such as cancer, dementia, heart disease, and more. Caregivers provide palliative care alongside treatments intended to cure patients’ illnesses to enhance the person’s quality of life. It is best provided soon after diagnosis.

A palliative care team comprises several health care professionals who provide medical, social, emotional, and financial support to the patient and their family. Patients access this care in hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, and sometimes at home.

Palliative care can include administering medication, advising changes to nutrition or diet, techniques for relaxing and relieving pain, emotional support, and more. Each patient case requires a tailored care plan for their unique needs.

Palliative care vs hospice care

Palliative care focuses on patients seeking treatment for an illness. Professionals deliver it at any point from when the patient receives a diagnosis until doctors determine they can no longer receive treatment for a cure.

If a patient is suffering from a terminal illness with no available treatment and has six months or less to live, they will receive hospice care. This service is similar to palliative care in that it aims to ensure patients are comfortable and relaxed for their final days. However, it does not include any measures to slow the disease progression. 

Who needs palliative care?

People who need palliative care are patients suffering from symptoms of life-threatening illnesses. They could be living with the following:

• Cancer

• Heart disease

• Blood and bone marrow disorders

• Alzheimer’s

• Kidney failure

• Parkinson’s

• Cystic fibrosis

• Dementia

• Stroke

However, others, in addition to those listed above, can receive palliative care. Many illnesses can benefit from palliative care.

Symptoms that palliative care can help relieve

Palliative care can provide relief for symptoms such as:

• Pain

• Nausea or vomiting

• Depression or sadness

• Anxiety

• Constipation

• Fatigue

• Loss of appetite

• Trouble sleeping

• Shortness of breath

Types of palliative care

Palliative care takes many forms, depending on the patient’s needs. The following offers a few types of palliative care and what each looks like in practice.

Physical

The physical pain and side effects that accompany serious illnesses can feel overwhelming. When a patient experiences physical side effects from the illness or treatment, such as pain, fatigue, nausea, shortness of breath, and trouble sleeping, it can take a toll on their overall well-being. Palliative care specialists, pain specialists, or sleep therapists might help manage these symptoms and side effects.

Social

Whilst experiencing pain, discomfort, or sadness during an illness, patients may find it difficult to connect with caregivers or family members about how they feel. They may not want to burden them and sometimes need an objective point of view or even just a ride to and from the hospital.

Social workers offer support by devising how to call a family meeting or ride services information. They can even provide palliative care for caregivers when they feel overwhelmed.

Emotional

During an illness, patients may feel physically in pain, but they can also experience a wide range of emotions. Patients might feel sad, angry, anxious, and grateful all at once. Emotional palliative care can look like gaining access to a support group or a mental health professional to help them cope with their emotions.

Mental

Coping with the symptoms and treatments associated with an illness can affect the mind. If patients can't sleep, they might feel stressed and have a hard time thinking clearly. They could worry about children or parents if they cannot care for them. Mental health professionals and support groups can suggest yoga, art, walking, and other relaxing activities.

Spiritual

Whilst suffering from a serious illness such as cancer or dementia, patients may encounter thoughts about nearing death or seeking a greater purpose upon surviving an illness. One aspect of palliative care can be spiritual, so if a patient belongs to a church, synagogue, or temple, leaders or community members of their chosen faith can help them deal with the situation in a positive way.

Financial

Finally, palliative care might come in the form of financial assistance. Hospital bills and treatments can add up. Patients may need child or pet care whilst they’re ill. Social workers or financial advisors can discuss billing and insurance, help apply for disability payments or medical leave, find programmes that deliver low-cost medicine, and ideate other financial alternatives.

Benefits of palliative care

From symptom management to emotional support, the advantages of receiving palliative care can make a tremendous difference in a patient’s ability to cope with their illness. Additional advantages include the following: 

• Supporting the patient and their family with holistic support of the body, mind, and spirit

• Helping patients understand treatment plans (translators or interpreters can be critical to a palliative care team) and pay for them

• Improving their quality of life by relieving pain and symptoms

• Providing referrals to community resources or other types of support.

• Extending the life of the patient

Ultimately, palliative care is beneficial for patients and is available on the NHS, which means no direct cost to the patient unless they opt for private palliative care. 

The need for access to palliative care

According to the World Health Organisation, only around 14 per cent of those who need palliative care receive it [1]. In the UK alone, studies show that 65 per cent of adults worry about access to palliative care, with 100,000 people dying annually without receiving it [2]. Studies have consistently shown that palliative care can have substantial benefits for patients—approximately 75 per cent of people approaching the end of their lives could benefit from it [3, 4]. 

Palliative care falls short because it requires a team of palliative care specialists and significant upfront financial investment from hospitals. The return on investment can be low, if any. 

Careers in palliative care

Palliative care requires a team of doctors, nurses, assistants, and specialists. Here are some careers in palliative care:

• Palliative care physician: A palliative care physician is a doctor trained to consider palliative care in their practice. They might focus on terminal illnesses such as cancer or heart failure.

• Palliative nurse: Palliative nurses provide basic medical care and sometimes offer counselling to patients. 

• Social worker: A social worker works on a palliative care team and provides resources for patients, such as access to community-based support, transportation, or therapy.

• Therapist: Palliative care teams often include therapists who provide patients with emotional and mental health support.

• Hospice nurse: If and when patients switch from palliative to hospice care, a hospice nurse specifically focuses on quality of life, comfort, and happiness in one’s final days.

• Home health aide: Sometimes, professionals deliver palliative care at home. A home health aide assists with taking medication, cooking and eating food, and other essential tasks. 

Start learning palliative care today

People who are seriously ill also need social, psychological, and spiritual care, all of which palliative care professionals can provide. Continue learning about the field with educational options like the Palliative Care: It’s Not Just Hospice Specialisation from the University of Colorado on Coursera. After completing it, you’ll have a comprehensive introduction to the core concepts of palliative care. In seven months or less, you’ll learn the skills and knowledge to support people to live life fully despite recovering from a serious illness.