Palliative and end-of-life care in psychogeriatric patients

Abstract

A rapidly growing number of elderly persons and their families are burdened by one or more terminal illnesses in the later years of their life. How best to support their quality of life is a major challenge for healthcare teams. Palliative and end-of-life (PEOL) care is well positioned to respond to this challenge. While the evidence of PEOL is just beginning, much of the suffering can be relieved by what is already known. PEOL care for the elderly needs to go beyond the focus on the patient and should rest on a broad understanding of the nature of suffering that includes family and professional caregivers in that experience of suffering. The dissemination of PEOL care principles should be a public health priority. This article aims to improve understanding of appropriate PEOL care in the elderly and discuss future perspectives.