North is the region of the country with the lowest number of Palliative Care services

services

A number of services in the region are concentrated in just four states, according to the Palliative Care Atlas, launched by ANCP.

Palliative Care services offered in the north of Brazil are the smallest compared to the rest of the country. The information is part of the third edition of the Palliative Care Atlas, a document prepared by the National Academy of Palliative Care (ANCP), which presents relevant data about the status of the specialty approach and its challenges across the country.

Recently launched, the Atlas is the ANCP’s official document on Palliative Care and guided the construction of the National Palliative Care Policy, approved at the end of the year by the Ministry of Health. It brings data that was collected and grouped, covering type of service, profile staff, education and research. Furthermore, it innovated by bringing information about child care and the use of opioids, two issues that are frequently addressed by teams working in this specialty.

According to the Atlas, the northern region offers only eight Palliative Care services, distributed in Amazonas, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins. It is worth remembering that the European Palliative Care Association recommends two specialized services for every 100,000 inhabitants.

Across the country, the Southeast region has the largest number of services, totaling 98 (41.8%). Next comes the Northeast Region, which totals 60 services (25.7%). The South Region has 40 services (17.1%) and the Central West has 28 services (12.0%).

What is palliative care

Palliative Care, according to the WHO, is an approach that aims to bring quality of life to patients and their families who are in a situation that threatens the continuity of life. These patients can be children (including in utero, who are cared for through the mother) and adults.

It aims to prevent and control physical symptoms such as pain and other emotional, spiritual and socio-family symptoms. “Palliative comes from the Latin term pallium, which means cloak, the protective cloak that protected warriors in the elements. So palliative care means protection, for everyone involved in a life-threatening situation, bringing maximum quality of life”, explains the president of ANCP, Rodrigo Kappel Castilho.

Professional qualification

Since 2018, when ANCP launched the first edition of the Atlas, called “Situational Analysis and Recommendations for Structuring Palliative Care Programs in Brazil”, there has been significant growth in the number of Palliative Care services in the country. Today there are 234 assistance services, 22.5% more than the total officially registered in 2019. These services are distributed throughout the national territory, with a notable concentration in the Southeast and Northeast regions. The North region has the fewest Palliative Care services.

“Our objective with this material is to provide health professionals, public policy makers, educators and society in general with relevant information about Palliative Care so that the country can strengthen this specialty and enable the emergence of new services, especially in the most critical areas. ”, states the president of ANCP.

Castilho believes that, with the implementation of the National Palliative Care Policy, the specialty will increase in supply, especially in the primary care network, in an organized and structured way, also increasing the specific education and training of professionals. “The creation of Palliative Medicine as an area of ​​activity for Medical Specialties is an urgent need, in the same way as it was for Nursing, today with a specific matrix of content for training in Palliative Care”, highlights the president of ANCP.

Access the complete Atlas.

Brazilian Congress

In 2024, the Northeast will host the X Brazilian Congress of Palliative Care, organized by the ANCP. The event will bring together the greatest international and national experts on Palliative Care between the 13th and 16th of November, in Fortaleza, Ceará. Registration can be done via the link:

*With information from consultancy.

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