[Analysis of current conditions concerning development of palliative care in three selected countries of the former Eastern Bloc].

UNLABELLED

Palliative care is an active and comprehensive care provided to all patients who no longer react to treatment that would bring recovery. Its main objective is to gradually improve and maintain patients' high quality of life in their end stage of disease. In Europe palliative care has developed since the 1970's, 20th century. The aim of the study was to assess the current conditions concerning development of palliative care in selected countries of the former Eastern Bloc, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, by defining the following: recognition of the term "palliative care" in the analyzed countries, the type of palliative care units existing in a given country as well as funding sources, access to opioid drugs and barriers hindering palliative care development.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The analysis included data collected based on survey forms filled in by medical staff from the selected countries of the former Eastern Bloc, as well as data contained in official documents and reports on palliative care development obtained from the three countries. 95 respondents, medical employees from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, took part in the survey conducted in the period from January to December 2011.

RESULTS

The profession that was most frequently declared by the respondents was a doctor (from Eastern Bloc in Belarus up to 76.7% in Ukraine) or a nurse (from 3.3% in Kazakhstan up to 50.0% in Belarus). 40% of respondents from Belarus were of the opinion that the term "palliative care" was commonly known by a major part of society, and as much as 53.3% of respondents from Kazakhstan believed that it was familiar only to certain social groups. From 93.3% of respondents from Kazakhstan up to 100% of respondents from Ukraine and Belarus regarded full-time hospices and palliative care units to be the main place providing such care. 30% of respondents from Belarus, 46.4% from Kazakhstan and as much as 80% from Ukraine stated that palliative care was publicly funded, however, only in part.

CONCLUSIONS

The term 'palliative care' is not commonly known in either of the three countries analyzed. Full-time hospices or palliative care units function in all of these countries, and palliative care services are publicly funded, however, only in part. Patients do not have access to opioids in amounts required for regular daily use. No differences as to the main barriers hindering palliative care development between the analyzed countries were identified.