Abstract

FLORIANI, Ciro Augusto  and  SCHRAMM, Fermin Roland. Moral and operational challenges for the inclusion of palliative care in primary health care. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2007, vol.23, n.9, pp. 2072-2080. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2007000900015.

Palliative care, a model in end-of-life care, is currently undergoing expansion in Brazil. This article emphasizes the need to implement palliative care in primary health care, with an important role in end-of-life care, especially in areas without specialized palliative-care teams. The article discusses key aspects in the organization of this treatment modality and analyzes how palliative care could and should be implemented within primary health care in Brazil. The article describes several challenges for health teams to provide such care, related to the primary caregiver, inherent ethical conflicts, and human resource allocation.

Keywords : Hospice Care; Patient Care Team; Bioethics; Equity in the Resource Allocation; Home Nursing.