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. 2020 Sep 15:21:e32.
doi: 10.1017/S1463423620000328.

Rethinking palliative care in a public health context: addressing the needs of persons with non-communicable chronic diseases

Chariklia Tziraki  1   2 , Corrina Grimes  3 , Filipa Ventura  4 , Rónán O'Caoimh  5 , Silvina Santana  6 , Veronica Zavagli  7 , Silvia Varani  8 , Donatella Tramontano  9 , João Apóstolo  10 , Bart Geurden  11 , Vincenzo De Luca  12 , Giovanni Tramontano  13 , Maria Rosaria Romano  13 , Marilena Anastasaki  14 , Christos Lionis  15 , Rafael Rodríguez-Acuña  16 , Manuel Luis Capelas  17 , Tânia Dos Santos Afonso  18 , David William Molloy  19 , Giuseppe Liotta  20 , Guido Iaccarino  21 , Maria Triassi  22 , Patrik Eklund  23 , Regina Roller-Wirnsberger  24 , Maddalena Illario  22   25
Affiliations

Rethinking palliative care in a public health context: addressing the needs of persons with non-communicable chronic diseases

Chariklia Tziraki et al. Prim Health Care Res Dev. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCDs) are the main cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Demographic aging has resulted in older populations with more complex healthcare needs. This necessitates a multilevel rethinking of healthcare policies, health education and community support systems with digitalization of technologies playing a central role. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging (A3) working group focuses on well-being for older adults, with an emphasis on quality of life and healthy aging. A subgroup of A3, including multidisciplinary stakeholders in health care across Europe, focuses on the palliative care (PC) model as a paradigm to be modified to meet the needs of older persons with NCCDs. This development paper delineates the key parameters we identified as critical in creating a public health model of PC directed to the needs of persons with NCCDs. This paradigm shift should affect horizontal components of public health models. Furthermore, our model includes vertical components often neglected, such as nutrition, resilience, well-being and leisure activities. The main enablers identified are information and communication technologies, education and training programs, communities of compassion, twinning activities, promoting research and increasing awareness amongst policymakers. We also identified key 'bottlenecks': inequity of access, insufficient research, inadequate development of advance care planning and a lack of co-creation of relevant technologies and shared decision-making. Rethinking PC within a public health context must focus on developing policies, training and technologies to enhance person-centered quality life for those with NCCD, while ensuring that they and those important to them experience death with dignity.

Keywords: integrated; multimorbidity; non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCDs); palliative care; public health.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Rethinking palliative care for chronic diseases
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