End of life care in Thailand
The population of Thailand is approximately 63.5 million people.
Life expectancy has risen to 67.9 years in men and 75.0 years
among women (Phungrassami 2005).The leading causes of death
are cancer, accidents, heart disease and acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS) (Phungrassami 2005). The demand for
care at the end of life is increasing because of the growing number
of terminally ill persons seeking optimal care. Recently, the Thailand
National Hospital Accreditation Authority has introduced
the provision of palliative and end-of-life care as a quality indicator
(Nilmanat & Phungrassami 2006). ‘The right to refuse treatment’
was also announced in the National Health Act (2007).