International Program for Palliative Care

Overview

Our main focus since 2006 has been Vietnam, where we are assisting the Ministry of Health and major hospitals to integrate palliative care into the healthcare system. We also collaborate with colleagues in South Asia and Africa. We offer assistance with each of the WHO’s “four pillars” of national palliative care programs: policy, opioid availability, education, and implementation.

Palliative care relieves pain, other physical symptoms, and psycho-social distress of patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other serious chronic illnesses. It thereby enhances the quality of life of both patients and their families. In our view, however, palliative care in resource-poor settings also should strive to improve access and adherence to disease-modifying treatments and promote disease prevention wherever these are not readily available. Conceived in this way, palliative care is an essential part of comprehensive care.

Curricula

• Palliative Care for HIV AIDS and Cancer Patients in Vietnam - Basic Training Curriculum
• Chăm Sóc Giảm Nhẹ cho Bệnh Nhân HIV AIDS và Ung Thư ở Việt Nam - Tài Liệu Tập Huấn Cơ Bản
• Palliative Care for HIV AIDS and Cancer Patients in Vietnam - Advanced Training Curriculum
• Chăm Sóc Giảm Nhẹ cho Bệnh Nhân HIV AIDS và Ung Thư ở Việt Nam - Tài Liệu Tập Huấn Nâng Cao

Articles

• Vietnam: Integrating Palliative Care into HIV/AIDS and Cancer Care
  
  • Reproduced with permission: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08853924
• Just Palliative Care: Responding Responsibly to the Suffering of the Poor
  
  • Reproduced with permission: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08853924
• Vietnam’s Palliative Care Initiative: Successes and Challenges in the First Five Years
  
  • Reproduced with permission: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08853924
• Opioid Inaccessibility and its Human Consequences: Reports from the Field
  • For the full article, please visit: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/15360288.2010.501852