Development of palliative care services in Turkey

Goksel F., Senel G., Oguz G., Ozdemir T., Aksakal H., Turkkani M. H., ...Daha Fazla

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, cilt.29, sa.6, 2020 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 29 Sayı: 6
  • Basım Tarihi: 2020
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1111/ecc.13285
  • Dergi Adı: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Psycinfo
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: cancer, community, national programme, palliative care, palliative care organisation, Turkey, MAPPING LEVELS, CANCER, PAIN
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Introduction Palliative care (PC) is a holistic philosophy of care that can only be obtained through the awareness of public and healthcare professionals, PC training and good integration into the health system. Depending on health system structures, there are differences in PC models and organisations in various countries. This study is designed to evaluate the current status of PC services in Turkey, which is strongly supported by national health policies. Methods The data were collected through official correspondence with the Ministry of Health, Provincial Directorate of Health and hospital authorities. Numbers of patients who received inpatient PC, the number of hospital beds, diagnosis of disease, duration of hospitalisation, the first three symptoms as the cause of hospitalisation, opioid use, place of discharge and mortality rates were evaluated. Results A total of 48,953 patients received inpatient PC support in 199 PC centres with 2,429 beds over a 26-month period. The most frequent diagnosis for hospitalisation was cancer (35%), and the most common symptom was pain (25%). Opioids were used in 26.7% of patients. Conclusion Steps should be taken for PC training and providing continuity through organisations outside the hospital and home care.