Join Us On Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.
Clearview News Wire
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Palliative care lacking in much of the world
Last Updated: 2010-07-14 11:18:27 -0400 (Reuters Health)July 15, 2010
By Tan Ee LynHONG KONG (Reuters) - Most people who are dying around the world have inadequate or no access to painkillers, hospice and palliative care, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit on Wednesday.
The report blamed the cultural taboos surrounding death, government avoidance of the issue, poor public awareness and untrained healthcare workers for the problem, which affects even advanced countries like the United States and Japan.
While more than 100 million people worldwide would benefit from hospice and palliative care each year, less than 8 percent access it, according to the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance.
"The focus is on curative care, where doctors focus on curing patients at all costs; the U.S. is an extreme example of that," said Tony Nash, EIU global director and key author of the report, which gave a "Quality of Death Index" covering 40 countries.
"There really isn't an acceptance of hospice and palliative care as a viable option, they are seen almost as surrendering once you enter those environments," Nash said in a telephone interview from Singapore.
Britain topped the index with the best quality-of-death care, followed by Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Belgium. Near the bottom were China, Brazil and Uganda, with India ranked 40th.
The United States was ranked 9th, dragged down by the financial burden of healthcare near death, which reflects the high overall cost of healthcare, according to the report.
Singapore was ranked 18th, Hong Kong 20th and Japan 23rd.
The rankings took into account factors like availability of painkillers, hospices and public funding, transparency between doctor and patient, training of healthcare workers and whether palliative care is incorporated into national health policies.
The report cited India as having least access to painkillers because of strict laws against illicit drug use. Even doctors and nurses in some large cancer hospitals in India were not trained to administer morphine, the report said.
Five billion people live in countries with insufficient or no drugs controlling severe or moderate pain, according to the World Health Organization. The world's population is 6.8 billion.
The report said strong taboos surrounded death in Japan, China and India, adding that in some cases, relatives forbade healthcare workers from informing patients of their conditions.
It called for more discussion and public debate on providing end-of-life care, saying that would raise public awareness, encourage governments to incorporate palliative care into national health policies and open the way for healthcare workers to be trained in this area.
Only seven countries in the index - Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey and Britain - have national health policies that include palliative care.
SOURCE: http://link.reuters.com/mek57m
Tweet
Other Articles:
- February 3, 2012
- Senators urge Komen to reconsider funding decision
- February 1, 2012
- Eating fish tied to lower risk of colon polyps
- January 31, 2012
- Kids seek tans, use less sunscreen as they Age
- January 18, 2012
- FDA approves BTG's drug for cancer toxicity
- January 5, 2012
- Argentina's Fernandez undergoes cancer surgery
- December 20, 2011
- Vitamin D has mixed effects on cancer, broken bones
- December 13, 2011
- Memory issues after cancer may not be due to chemo
- December 8, 2011
- Quicker radiation therapy doubles mastectomy risk
- December 7, 2011
- Prostate cancer hormonal therapy cuts deaths: report
- November 17, 2011
- More fruit tied to lower risk of uterine fibroids
- November 15, 2011
- Brain scan study finds evidence of 'chemo brain'
- November 9, 2011
- No link between selenium, lower lung cancer risk
- November 8, 2011
- Singer Andy Williams reveals he has cancer
- November 7, 2011
- More evidence obesity tied to colon cancer
- November 4, 2011
- More evidence obesity tied to colon cancer
- October 31, 2011
- Heavy drinking tied to higher stomach cancer risk
- October 28, 2011
- Heavy drinking tied to higher stomach cancer risk
- October 27, 2011
- Doctors split on Avastin for breast cancer: survey
- October 21, 2011
- More breast cancer diagnosed in women with diabetes
- October 20, 2011
- US health panel cautious on HPV screening vs Pap