Background: Despite increasing recognition of the role played by palliative care (PC) services, the priorities of policymakers in supporting PC remain unclear and have sometimes engendered controversy. There are few studies exploring policymakers' perspectives towards PC services, with most shedding light on obstacles to PC development. Furthermore, no study has explored policymakers' perspectives towards providing PC at the national level in resource-limited countries. This study provides a platform for providing PC as part of the Palestinian healthcare system (HCS) by exploring policymakers' perspectives on PC, an essential step to developing a PC programme.

Methods: A descriptive qualitative study design was employed using semi-structured interviews. Participants were those identified as responsible for making executive and legislative decisions about health services (including PC) in the HCS. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: Twelve decision and policymakers participated in the study. Four categories were generated from the content analysis: (1) the nature of current PC healthcare services, (2) the potential benefits of PC, (3) challenges to providing PC, and (4) considerations in providing PC. The current PC services provided to Palestinian patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families are not comprehensive, and are limited to symptom management. There is a Palestinian national strategic plan for developing PC; however, the development goals are not clearly defined, and the plan's capabilities are inadequate. Several challenges to the provision of PC were found to relate to issues of education and training, the allocation of funding, and the availability of medications.

Conclusions: Integrating PC into the Palestinian university curricula as a compulsory course and establishing higher degree programmes in PC to overcome the shortage of PC specialists is required. Developing policies aligned with national laws could help enhance health services to patients and their families and resolve several challenges. Cooperating with national and international institutions in seeking funding could boost PC development and medication availability.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8967559PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-00936-1DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

policymakers' perspectives
16
perspectives essential
8
essential step
8
palliative care
8
care services
8
national level
8
exploring policymakers'
8
health services
8
services
7
national
5

Similar Publications

Ecological rule of law and enterprise green innovation - Evidence from China's environmental courts.

J Environ Manage

January 2025

School of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310000, China. Electronic address:

Strengthening the rule of law is the cornerstone of ecological environmental protection. In the context of sustainable development, countries generally recognize the key role of the legal system in the protection of the ecological environment. Based on the perspectives of management, economics, and jurisprudence, this paper explores the impact and internal mechanism of the ecological legal system represented by the environmental protection court on the green innovation of enterprises.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Are we ready for self-sampling for cervical cancer screening? Insights from service providers and policy makers in Nepal.

PLOS Glob Public Health

January 2025

Britain Nepal Medical Trust, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), London, United Kingdom.

Cervical cancer is the leading cancer among women in Nepal, but the country has very low screening rate, with only 8.2% of women being screened. In recent years, a self-sampling kit for testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV) has been developed to allow self-sampling and enable early detection of cervical abnormalities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Forests have the potential to contribute significantly to global climate policy efforts through enhanced carbon sequestration and storage in terrestrial systems and wood products. Projections models simulate changes future in forest carbon fluxes under different environmental, economic, and policy conditions and can inform landowners and policymakers on how to best utilize global forests for mitigating climate change. However, forest carbon modeling frameworks are often developed and applied in a highly disciplinary manner, e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In India, the Ayushman Bharat Program aims to provide comprehensive healthcare coverage to underprivileged communities, guided by the 2017 National Health Policy and aligned with Sustainable Development Goals. This study explores healthcare workers' perspectives on the implementation, impact, and challenges of Ayushman Bharat Yojana (ABY) in Kashmir, focusing on primary care services.

Methods: A mixed-methods study was conducted over ten months (October 2020 to August 2021) across ten districts in Kashmir.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!