Mapping Palliative Care Availability and Accessibility: A First Step to Eradicating Access Deserts in the Low- and Middle-Income Settings.

Objective: Palliative care is unavailable and/or inaccessible for the majority of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This study aims to determine the availability and accessibility of palliative care services in Malaysia, a middle-income country that has made good progress toward universal health coverage (UHC).

Method: Publicly available data, and databases of registered palliative care services were obtained from governmental and nongovernmental sources.

Proposal for improving access to palliative care by enhancing primary care services in an upper middle-income country.

Background: Primary care doctors play an important role in providing palliative care as they are often the first point of contact for most healthcare needs in the community. This mixed-method study aims to 1) determine the accessibility of palliative care services in Malaysia, an upper middle-income country with universal health coverage, 2) explore the knowledge, challenges and opportunities faced by primary care doctors in providing palliative care and 3) identify if minimum standards for palliative care service are clearly defined, available and achieved in primary care facilities.

Methods: Data on availability of palliative care services will be sourced from governmental and non-governmental databases and reports.

Adult palliative care 2004-2030 population study: estimates and projections in Malaysia.

Objectives: To estimate past trends and future projection of adult palliative care needs in Malaysia.

Methods: This is a population-based secondary data analysis using the national mortality registry from 2004 to 2014. Past trend estimation was conducted using Murtagh's minimum and maximum methods and Gómez-Batiste's method.