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Development of palliative care services in Turkey
Author(s) -
Göksel Fatih,
Şenel Gülçin,
Oğuz Gonca,
Özdemir Tarkan,
Aksakal Hurişah,
Türkkanı Mustafa Hamidullah,
Küçük Aziz,
Eğin Muhammed Ertuğrul,
Gultekin Murat,
Silbermann Michael
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.13285
Subject(s) - medicine , christian ministry , palliative care , health care , public health , health professionals , family medicine , nursing , medical emergency , philosophy , theology , economics , economic growth
Palliative care (PC) is a holistic philosophy of care that can only be obtained through the awareness of public and healthcare professionals, PC training and good integration into the health system. Depending on health system structures, there are differences in PC models and organisations in various countries. This study is designed to evaluate the current status of PC services in Turkey, which is strongly supported by national health policies. Methods The data were collected through official correspondence with the Ministry of Health, Provincial Directorate of Health and hospital authorities. Numbers of patients who received inpatient PC, the number of hospital beds, diagnosis of disease, duration of hospitalisation, the first three symptoms as the cause of hospitalisation, opioid use, place of discharge and mortality rates were evaluated. Results A total of 48,953 patients received inpatient PC support in 199 PC centres with 2,429 beds over a 26‐month period. The most frequent diagnosis for hospitalisation was cancer (35%), and the most common symptom was pain (25%). Opioids were used in 26.7% of patients. Conclusion Steps should be taken for PC training and providing continuity through organisations outside the hospital and home care.