Integrating palliative care in public health: the Colombian experience following an international pain policy fellowship

Exploring the rise and diversity of health and societal issues that use a public health approach: A scoping review and narrative synthesis

There is an increase in calls across diverse issues for a "public health approach" however, it is not clear whether there is any shared understanding in approach in its conceptualisation or implementation. Our aims were to (1) identify and categorise the issues which discuss a public health approach within published literature since 2010, (2) chart the descriptions and applications of public health approaches across and within four purposively sampled categories of issues, and (3) capture any evaluations conducted. A scoping review of published literature was undertaken; Seven leading databases were searched: AMED, APA PsycInfo, ASSIA, CINAHL complete, Cochrane Library (Review), Embase, and MEDLINE for articles published between 2010 and 2022 which have applied, described or called for a "public health approach" to address any issue. 3,573 studies were identified through our initial searches, of these 1,635 articles were recognised for possible inclusion from analysis of titles and abstract. The final number of included studies was 1,314. We identified 28 categories, 26 of which were societal issues, where a public health approach is being advocated. We purposively selected four of these categories; adverse childhood experiences; end of life care; gambling addiction and violence reduction/ knife crime for further analysis of the approach including how it was conceptualised and operationalised; less than 13% of the studies described the implementation of a public health approach and there was considerable heterogeneity across and within categories as to how this was done. Since 2010 there have been increasing calls for a public health approach to be taken to address health and societal challenges. However, the operationalisation of a public health approach varied extensively and there were few evaluations of the approach. This has implications for policy makers and those involved in commissioning related approaches in the future as the evidence-base is limited.

Availability and accessibility of opioids for pain and palliative care in Colombia: a survey study

Introduction: Access to essential medicines, including opioids, is a component of the right to health. Objective: To identify barriers to opioid availability and accessibility for pain and palliative care. Methods: Online survey with Colombian prescribers. Availability barriers were analyzed for each facility (distribution and/or dispensing). Accessibility barriers were analyzed by type. Descriptive analyses were conducted using relative frequencies. Significance within categories and regions was measured using Fisher's exact test. Results: Out of 1,208 prescribers invited, 806 (66.7%) completed the survey. Availability: 76.43% reported barriers. The most cited barrier was “Pharmacies authorized by health insurance companies”, where opioids are frequently unavailable. Accessibility: 74.6% reported barriers. Most frequently cited was “Difficulty securing payment authorization for medication from health insurance companies”. Significant differences were observed in terms of regions and “Cost” (p=0.02). Lack of coordination among procuring and distributing agencies affects availability. Limited awareness and bureaucratic procedures affect accessibility. Conclusions: There are barriers to opioid availability and access in Colombia, related to the existing structure for guaranteeing equitable supply. From the perspective of healthcare providers, problems related to pharmacy availability, prescription and cost of medicines hinder pain treatment.

The Development of Palliative Care in Colombia: An Analysis of Geographical Inequalities Through the Application of International Indicators

CONTEXT

The national evaluation of an individual country is a tool used to improve the universal provision of palliative care. The evaluation of a country's internal situation, by means of an analysis of the development of palliative care by region, may also be an instrument for improvement.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to understand the regional development of palliative care in Colombia, through the application of international indicators.

METHODS

Regional development was analyzed for Colombia, with a country-specific adaptation of the evaluation method used in the latest edition of the Palliative Care World Map (Clark D, 2020), the need for palliative care per death with serious health-related suffering (Knaul FN, 2019), and the coverage of specialized services, following European standards (Centeno, 2016). A total of 33 of the country's regions were classified.

RESULTS

Some 41% of the people who die in Colombia need palliative care. The average figure for specialized services is 0.5/100,000 inhabitants, with a maximum coverage of 51%. In Colombia, there are 12 regions with a generalized level of provision; six regions with isolated provision, nine regions developing their capacity, four with no known activity, and two at an advanced level of palliative care integration. The regions with the highest level of palliative care development coincide with higher demand and coverage of specialized services.

CONCLUSION

Regional palliative care development is unequal and unbalanced. Applying international indicators to levels of regional development allows for the identification of geographical inequalities and highlights low palliative care development, especially in the rural areas of the country.

Impact of the caregiver burden on the effectiveness of a home-based palliative care program: A mediation analysis

OBJECTIVE

The growing aging population and the high prevalence of several concomitant chronic diseases have contributed to the elevated rates of caregiver burden and suffering in patients. In turn, intending to relieve unnecessary pain in patients, there has been a rapid growth of outpatient palliative care programs. However, little has been studied about caregiver burden as a relevant factor potentially affecting the effectiveness of these programs. This study aimed to determine the extent of caregiver burden as a possible mediator on the effectiveness of a home-based palliative care program.

METHOD

Sixty-six palliative patients (56% women; mean age + SD = 71, 6 ± 17.7) and their caregivers were assessed with measures for physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms before and 1 month after the start of a home-based palliative care program.

RESULTS

The association between caregiver burden and palliative outcomes was corroborated with a categorical regression model (p < 0.01). Caregiver burden was found to be a significant mediator in the relationship between outcome measures for palliative care at baseline and after 1 month of enrollment in the program.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the role of caregiver burden in the effectiveness of a home-based palliative care program. Although further work is required, the results indicate that a patient-focused intervention does not have the same beneficial effect if the caregiver burden is not addressed. Future home-based palliative care programs should focus on caregivers as well as patients, with particular attention to psychosocial intervention on caregivers.

Pain and Policy Studies Group: Two Decades of Working to Address Regulatory Barriers to Improve Opioid Availability and Accessibility Around the World

For two decades, the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG), a global research program at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, has worked passionately to fulfill its mission of improving pain relief by achieving balanced access to opioids worldwide. PPSG's early work highlighted the conceptual framework of balance leading to the development of the seminal guidelines and criteria for evaluating opioid policy. It has collaborated at the global level with United Nations agencies to promote access to opioids and has developed a unique model of technical assistance to help national governments assess regulatory barriers to essential medicines for pain relief and amend existing or develop new legislation that facilitates appropriate and adequate opioid prescribing according to international standards. This model was initially applied in regional workshops and individual country projects and then adapted for PPSG's International Pain Policy Fellowship, which provides long-term mentoring and support for several countries simultaneously. The PPSG disseminates its work online in several ways, including an extensive Web site, news alerts, and through several social media outlets. PPSG has become the focal point for expertise on policy governing drug control and medicine and pharmacy practice related to opioid availability and pain relief.

Palliative care education in Latin America: A systematic review of training programs for healthcare professionals

Objective:

The integration of palliative care (PC) education into medical and nursing curricula has been identified as an international priority. PC education has undergone significant development in Latin America, but gaps in the integration of PC courses into undergraduate and postgraduate curricula remain. The aim of our review was to systematically examine the delivery of PC education in Latin America in order to explore the content and method of delivery of current PC programs, identify gaps in the availability of education opportunities, and document common barriers encountered in the course of their implementation.

Method:

We carried out a systematic review of peer-reviewed academic articles and grey literature. Peer-reviewed articles were obtained from the following databases: CINAHL Plus, Embase, the Web of Science, and Medline. Grey literature was obtained from the following directories: the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care's Global Directory of Education in Palliative Care, the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance's lists of palliative care resources, the Latin American Association for Palliative Care's training resources, and the Latin American Atlas of Palliative Care. The inclusion criteria were that the work: (1) focused on describing PC courses; (2) was aimed at healthcare professionals; and (3) was implemented in Latin America. The PRISMA checklist was employed to guide the reporting of methods and findings.

Results:

We found 36 programs that were delivered in 8 countries. Most of the programs were composed of interdisciplinary teams, taught at a postgraduate level, focused on pain and symptom management, and utilized classroom-based methods. The tools for evaluating the courses were rarely reported. The main barriers during implementation included: a lack of recognition of the importance of PC education, a lack of funding, and the unavailability of trained teaching staff.

Significance of results:

Considerable work needs to be done to improve the delivery of PC education programs in Latin American countries. Practice-based methods and exposure to clinical settings should be integrated into ongoing courses to facilitate learning. A regional platform needs to be created to share experiences of successful training programs and foster the development of PC education throughout Latin America.

A Multifaceted Approach to Improve the Availability and Accessibility of Opioids for the Treatment of Cancer Pain in Serbia: Results From the International Pain Policy Fellowship (2006-2012) and Recommendations for Action

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Serbia, and at least 14,000-16,000 patients experience moderate-to-severe cancer pain every year. Cancer pain relief has been impeded by inadequate availability of opioid analgesics and barriers to their accessibility. In 2006, a Serbian oncologist was selected as an International Pain Policy Fellow. The fellow identified barriers to opioid availability in Serbia and implemented an action plan to address the unavailability of oral morphine, attitudinal and knowledge barriers about opioids, and barriers in the national opioid control policy, in collaboration with the government, local partners, and international experts, including those from the World Health Organization. Collaborative efforts resulted in availability of immediate-release oral morphine, registration of controlled-release hydromorphone, and reimbursement of oral methadone for cancer pain; numerous educational activities aimed at changing inadequate knowledge and negative attitudes toward opioids; recognition of opioids as essential medicines for palliative care in a new National Palliative Care Strategy; and recognition of the medical use of opioids as psychoactive-controlled substances for the relief of pain included in a new national law on psychoactive-controlled substances, and the development of recommendations for updating regulations on prescribing and dispensing opioids. An increase in opioid consumption at the institutional and national levels also was observed. This article outlines a multifaceted approach to improving access to strong opioids for cancer pain management and palliative care in a middle-income country and offers a potential road map to success.

Hospice and palliation in the English-speaking Caribbean

This article presents empirical data on the limited availability of hospice and palliative care to the 6 million people of the English-speaking Caribbean. Ten of the 13 nations therein responded to a survey and reported employing a total of 6 hospice or palliative specialists, and having a total of 15 related facilities. The evolving socioeconomic and cultural context in these nations bears on the availability of such care, and on the willingness to report, assess, and prioritize pain, and to prescribe opiates for pain. Socioeconomics and culture also impinge on what medications and modalities of care are routinely available for pain or other conditions and can challenge professionalism, empathy, and responsiveness to patients' unrelieved pain. Although all respondents report having a protocol for pain management, hospice, or end-of-life care, their annual medical use of opiates is well below the global mean. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which monitors such use, encourages Caribbean and other low- and middle-income countries to increase their use of opiates to treat pain, and to overcome both unfounded fears of addiction and overly restrictive interpretation of related laws and regulations. Contextual considerations like those described here are important to the success of policies and capacity-building programs aiming to increase access to hospice and palliation, and perhaps to improving other aspects of health and healthcare. Exploring and responding to the realities of socioeconomic and cultural conditions will enhance public and policy dialogue and improve the design of interventions to increase access to palliative and hospice care. Improving access to palliative and hospice care in the Caribbean demonstrates beneficence and helps to fulfill human rights conventions.

Examining influences on the availability of and access to opioids for pain management and palliative care

This commentary relates to the recently published essay in PLOS Medicine, entitled "Untreated Pain, Narcotics Regulation, and Global Health Ideologies." That essay describes regulatory and other systemic barriers preventing the accessibility of opioid analgesics and contributing to patients not receiving adequate pain relief. Four main points highlighted in the essay are discussed in this commentary: (1) the role of international treaties in medication availability; (2) the role of the International Narcotics Control Board in medication availability; (3) the role of regulatory policy in treating pain; and (4) the role of opioid analgesics in treating pain. Recent authoritative statements and activities suggest a strengthened infrastructure within which governments currently can work to improve the availability of controlled medicines to enhance patient pain and palliative care services.