The stigma associated with the name “palliative care” is preventing people from getting early access to supportive care that would improve their quality of life, says new research from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. They conclude the service needs to be “rebranded.”
Name provokes anxiety, found researchers
Two groups of 24 patients with advanced cancers were studied along with 23 caregivers. “Initially, both groups perceived palliative care as synonymous with death; as care at the end of life in a setting where they would die, and in general as a frightening, anxiety-provoking thing they wanted to avoid,” said Dr. Camilla Zimmermann, principal investigator and head of the palliative care program at the University Health Network in Toronto.
The source of the stigma is doctors and nurses who give the impression that palliative care is only end-of-life care, said Zimmermann. And she also blamed the media.
Time to change perception, says doctor
The group of patients that received early palliative care had an improved quality of life, compared to the group that had only standard cancer care. Zimmermann concluded there has to be a change in the way palliative care is presented to patients from the moment of diagnosis and throughout the course of the illness.
The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.