Palliative care: a public health priority in developing countries

Palliative care is an emerging specialist discipline worldwide with the majority of services located in developed countries. Developing countries, however, have higher incidences of cancer and AIDS and most of these patients would benefit from palliative care. While there is prominent coverage of this issue in the palliative care literature, there is limited coverage in the specialist public health literature, which suggests that the challenges of palliative care may not yet have been generally recognized as a public health priority, particularly in developing countries. The aim of this article is to introduce the topic of "Palliative care in developing countries" into the specialist public health literature to raise awareness and stimulate debate on this issue among public health professionals and health policy makers, thereby potentially facilitating establishment of palliative care services in developing countries.