Patient Participation in Palliative Care

The participation of patients in their own care has become an important part of all health policy initiatives during the last decade. This book stresses the importance of patient participation in palliative care, covering recent developments, bereavement issues, cultural differences, and concentrates on the multi-professional nature of palliative care by including material from physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and psychologists. There is also material from the patients themselves.

Most importantly, this book will highlight the difficulties in involving patients in their own care due to poor life expectancy and debilitating illness and severe pain. More knowledge and insight is needed to see how far these patients can realistically be expected to be involved in improving the services they need.