Developing targets for public health initiatives to improve palliative care.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Palliative Care is an approach that improves quality of life for patients and their families facing the problems associated with incurable life-threatening illness. In many countries, due to the rapidly ageing population, increasingly more people are suffering from serious chronic disease towards the end of life, making further development in palliative care a major public health challenge. The aim of this study was to develop the first targets for public health initiatives to improve palliative care in Germany.

Methods

Based on the findings from pilot studies (qualitative interviews and surveys with different stakeholders in the health care system), we conducted a modified Delphi study with two rounds of questionnaires with experts in public health and palliative

SUBMITTER: Schneider N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2874778 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature