A Comparative Study of palliative care in Iran, four countries: a comparative study

Introduction: According to the high number of patients with breast cancer and the worldwide mortality rate from this malignancy specially in Iran, the supportive and palliative care is essential. Aim: this study designed as a comparative study about the palliative care systems in patients with breast cancer through selected countries.Methods: In this descriptive study, the providing Iranian palliative care was compared with Australia, Canada, Lebanon and the United Kingdom was conducted in 2016. Thus, the current status of care in patients with cancer were evaluated in Iran, then the palliative care of cancer patients in the two axes in thetwo-centric services provide palliative care , including peer social support, spiritual support, educational support, information, psychological care. In service delivery process such as staffing and training of care providers were surveyed. The selected countries were discussed. Data collected by comparing the characteristics of the service in two axes mentioned were categorized and summarized and analyzed in comparative tables Results: In three countries, Canada, Australia and the UK, is well defined package of health services to thepublic. Comprehensive state health insurance services and all services are covered by this package. In these countries, palliative care services in five areas of health care, spiritual care, mental health care and sociocultural and supporting the families and caregivers of patients in the intensive care days and end of life care offered after death. In Iran, unlike the health care program is still scheduled programming to provide specialist palliative care services there. And health care services, palliative care to patients and their familiesdo not offer cancer patients requiring palliative care and they do not have access to the facilities they need. One of the important aspects of care provided to patients with cancer is the availability and possibility of utilizing medical resources and financial support by both the government and insurance organization to theextent that issues such as patients’ insurance coverage (amount of out of pocket payments), and failure to provide health services based on leveling, and consequently increases in health care costs, seem to be the ostensible barriers to palliative care provision in this area

کلیدواژه ها:

Breast Cancer ، Palliative care ، Iran ، Comparative study