This article is originally from PCAeNEws.
In a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that palliative care allowed people with serious illness to enjoy better quality of life, improved survival rates and fewer symptoms. Palliative care helps to provide relief from symptoms, stress and pain brought about by a health condition, and may be provided by specialists or primary care doctors.
The researchers found that the people with serious illnesses were satisfied with their overall health after receiving palliative care and saw that palliative care was connected to better planning for advanced care, lower utilisation of health care and satisfaction of the care provided. Dio Kavalieratos, the study’s lead author, added that it is crucial to figure out how to integrate palliative care into patients’ usual care experiences so it can be a health care standard for those who are seriously ill.
Palliative care has received much attention as a means of improving patient survival rates over the last five years. But, the researchers note that there remains a need to develop ways of examining how palliative care affects caregivers, on top of people with serious illnesses.
Full article can be found here.