Palliative Care: The Oldest Profession?

Abstract

By the 1960s, the forces that had slowly turned medicine away from comfort toward a greater emphasis on cure had generated a need for better care of the dying and the chronically ill. With reference to the growth of peer-reviewed literature on palliative care, the history of this seemingly new specialty is traced through the hallmarks of professionalization to outline and document the changes in the leaders, the issues, the publications, and the treatment modalities over the last five decades. The focus is on Canada within an international context.

Keywords: histoire du 20e siècle; history 20th century; hospices; palliative care; professionalization; professionnalisation; soins palliatifs.