End-of-Life Care in Australia : Issues and trends

抄録

Over recent years in Australia, the integration of palliative care into health care systems has become more important. The ageing population is one of many reasons for this movement; more significant however, is the increasing realisation that all health professionals require some skill in caring for dying people. To that end then, a number of initiatives have been developed to provide broad-based education and support in a number of areas, but especially for primary health care workers. Using a primary health care framework, this paper explores a range of these developments and makes comment on future challenges of continuing to provide the most appropriate care of the dying.