Palliative care for vulnerable populations.

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Health Equity
• Vulnerable Populations

Background:

• Marginalization in healthcare leads to differential treatment.
• Healthcare provider attitudes and standard practices can exclude vulnerable groups.
• Existing palliative care models may not adequately serve all populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify strategies for achieving inclusive and accessible palliative care.
• To explore methods for integrating vulnerable populations into palliative care services.
• To address barriers hindering equitable end-of-life care.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing palliative care literature.
• Analysis of research from the Vulnerable Persons and End-of-Life New Emerging Team (VP-NET).
• Reflection on necessary changes for a more inclusive palliative care system.

Main Results:

• Differential treatment stems from marginalization, provider attitudes, and systemic barriers.
• Barriers exist in identifying need, eligibility, and scope of palliative care.
• Current practices may exclude or stigmatize certain populations.

Conclusions:

• Inclusive palliative care builds on existing strengths and removes barriers.
• Expanding the unit of care to include support teams is crucial.
• Ensuring physical accessibility and creative inclusion strategies are vital.
• Coordination with other services and addressing exclusion are key to equitable end-of-life care.