Abstract
Palliative care is increasingly available and the importance of its role increasingly recognized. International work
toward making palliative care a basic human right underscores the growing need to ensure comfort and pain
relief for the terminally ill. The organizational structures in place for providing such care vary greatly within and
across countries; even definition of the term is not uniform. The World Health Organization (WHO) definition
includes the statement that palliative care “... intends neither to hasten nor postpone death...”, thus illustrating
varying socio-cultural perceptions. In addition to cultural differences, other challenges include clinical, economic,
and varying institutionalized systems and practices in patient care.
This is a commentary on http://www.ijhpr.org/content/1/1/9/