What is a key concept of palliative care?

Palliative care is fundamentally centered on the goal of improving the quality of life for patients who are facing serious illnesses. This approach recognizes that patients are not only dealing with physical symptoms but also emotional, social, and spiritual challenges. By addressing these various dimensions of suffering, palliative care aims to enhance overall well-being, allowing individuals to live as fully and comfortably as possible, regardless of the stage of their illness.

This focus on quality of life is crucial because it shifts the role of care from solely curative measures to a more holistic approach that emphasizes comfort, dignity, and patient autonomy. Palliative care can be provided at any stage of a serious illness and does not depend on a specific prognosis, making it relevant not just at the end of life but throughout the course of an illness.