Why Palliative Care?
As HIV service providers know, the care and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) has changed dramatically in the past decade. Pharmaceutical therapies in particular have reduced morbidity of the disease and extended life in ways unimaginable a decade ago. For those with access to these treatments, the trajectory of HIV/AIDS has shifted from acute to chronic, becoming less like cancer and more like diabetes or heart disease.
Palliative care for PLWH/A also has changed. Its array of treatments and services has expanded beyond traditional hospice services. Palliative care now has much to offer patients not just at the end of life but throughout the course of the disease.
Patient needs can include management of pain and other symptoms, psychosocial and spiritual wellness, patient-directed advance-directive planning, and the complex balance between quality-of-life issues and curative treatment approaches. Palliative care seeks to address these issues. The purpose of this resource guide is to assist planners and community-based providers as they identify ways to enhance or expand the integration of palliative care services within existing CARE Act programs and services.
