Improving Palliative Care for Cancer

This report builds on and takes forward an agenda set out by the 1997 IOM report Approaching Death: Improving Care at the End of Life, which came at a time when leaders in palliative care and related fields had already begun to air issues surrounding care of the dying. That report identified significant gaps in knowledge about care at the end of life and the need for serious attention from biomedical, social  science, and health services researchers. Most  importantly, it recognized that the impediments to good care could be identified and potentially remedied. The report itself catalyzed further public involvement in specific initiatives—mostly pilot and demonstration projects and programs funded by the nonprofit foundation community, which are now coming to fruition.

1. Clinical Practice Guidelines for End-of-Life Care: Status, Source, and Further Development Needed,  Status of Quality Indicator Development for End-of-Life Care,Symptom Control Research Opportunities and Unmet Needs
2. RELIABLE, HIGH-QUALITY, EFFICIENT END-OFLIFE CARE FOR CANCER PATIENTS:
3. ECONOMIC ISSUES AND BARRIERS
4. QUALITY OF CARE AND QUALITY INDICATORS FOR END-OF-LIFE CANCER CARE: HOPE FOR THE BEST, YET PREPARE FOR THE WORST
5. THE CURRENT STATE OF PATIENT AND FAMILY INFORMATION ABOUT END-OF-LIFE CARE
6. PALLIATIVE CARE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE POPULATIONS: ACCESS AND QUALITY ISSUES
7. CONTENTS6 END-OF-LIFE CARE: SPECIAL ISSUES IN PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY
8. CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PSYCHOSOCIAL AND PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS OF CANCER
9. CROSS-CUTTING RESEARCH ISSUES: A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR REDUCING DISTRESS OF PATIENTS WITH CANCER
10. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION IN PALLIATIVE AND END-OFLIFE CARE FOR PHYSICIANS, NURSES AND SOCIAL