Palliative Care Strategy for HIV and other diseases - FHI 360

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6. fhi’s palliative care goals and objectives
FHI’s palliative care services goal is to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV
and other chronic illness and their families through
• preventing and minimizing physical, emotional, social, and spiritual suffering
• improving access to care, treatment, and support throughout the course of the
disease
• planning for bereavement and succession
• supporting surviving children and family members
The objectives are to
• increase local capacity to deliver palliative care
• support increased access to palliative care throughout the continuum of care
• integrate palliative care into existing care and support services
• advocate for sustainable and holistic palliative care locally and globally
• increase access to essential palliative care medicines and commodities
• facilitate development of palliative care policies, programs, and training
• help increase the quality of palliative care services
7. fhi’s technical and programmatic approaches
guiding prinCiples
FHI recognizes the need for comprehensive care for persons living with and affected by
HIV and other chronic diseases. FHI also believes that palliative care is an essential component
of comprehensive care.
• Palliative care improves quality of life: Quality is defined by the individual,
not the service provider. Serious effort should be made to improve quality of life,
regardless of the stage of illness or individual circumstances.
• Palliative care respects individuals: We must respect people’s right to make
choices, express their unique cultural and personal values, receive confidential services,
and be treated with dignity.
• Palliative care is holistic: Services should be viewed holistically, with physical,
emotional, spiritual, and social aspects equally weighted. Services should be
provided by interdisciplinary teams to better address the diverse needs. The unit
of care is the family—as defined by the client or patient—and includes adults, children,
and family caregivers.
• Palliative care is sustainable: While the process of sustainability takes time,
services in the long run should be sustainable, accessible, and integrated into local
communities.
• Palliative care is integrated with other services: Palliative care services
should be provided through existing health, psychosocial, and spiritual support services.