Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Palliative Medicine
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ajithakumari, K.
Right arrow Articles by Sureshkumar, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ajithakumari, K.
Right arrow Articles by Sureshkumar, K.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
Medline Plus Health Information
*Home Care Services
*Palliative Care
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Palliative home care — the Calicut experience

K. Ajithakumari

Pain and Palliative Care Clinic, Medical College, Calicut

K. Sureshkumar

Pain and Palliative Care Clinic, Medical College, Calicut

A three-year-old palliative care unit in Calicut, in the south Indian state of Kerala, started a home care service in June 1996. This paper reviews the first year of operation of the service; in this period 340 home visits were made. The service aims to deliver palliative care to the patients who are unable to reach the hospital, to empower patients to care for themselves and to empower the family to care for patients. One doctor and a few trained volunteers form the team. In addition to control of physical symptoms and emotional support, the home visits permitted minor procedures including nasogastric intubation, catheterization of bladder, dressing of wounds and intravenous fluid therapy. In some cases, the visits helped to change the attitude of families towards the patients - for example, allaying fear of contagion. In some instances, the visits changed the attitude of the neighbourhood towards the patient for the better. In spite of problems like the distances involved and bad roads, the experience of this team shows that a home care system is possible and essential for delivery of palliative care in India.

Key Words: cancer care facilities • developing countries • home care services • hospital based • palliative care • poverty

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 11, No. 6, 451-454 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/026921639701100604
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Med. EthicsHome page
S K Chaturvedi
Ethical dilemmas in palliative care in traditional developing societies, with special reference to the Indian setting
J. Med. Ethics, August 1, 2008; 34(8): 611 - 615.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AM J HOSP PALLIAT CAREHome page
P. McGrath, M. Vun, and L. McLeod
Needs and experiences of non-English-speaking hospice patients and families in an English-speaking country
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, September 1, 2001; 18(5): 305 - 312.
[Abstract] [PDF]