Palliative care in Canada: 1990

While there has been little change in numbers of programs across the country in the past four years, there does appear to have been an increase in the size of teams and in the variety of professional representation on teams, as well an increased number of programs with volunteers. The information suggests a certain consolidation of earlier efforts. Diversification of programs continues, with an increasing number of programs now in long-term care settings. Heidemann in 1986 raised the questions: What is quality palliative care? How do we know we are delivering quality palliative care? The questions continue to challenge us in 1990, as we continue to lack a set of standards against which to measure our efforts.