Modern Encyclopedia of Palliative

Modern Encyclopedia of Palliative Care is a compassionate, deeply informative guide to the care of people living with serious, advanced, or life-limiting illness. It brings together the science, clinical practice, ethics, and human heart of palliative care in one accessible reference for healthcare professionals, students, caregivers, educators, and anyone seeking a clearer understanding of comfort-centered care.

This book explains that palliative care is not simply about the final days of life. It is about relieving suffering, improving quality of life, supporting families, honoring dignity, and helping patients live as fully and peacefully as possible through every stage of serious illness. With a balanced approach, it addresses the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, ethical, and practical realities that shape the care of patients and families at life's close.

What's inside the book:

• The nature, philosophy, and purpose of palliative care
• Global access, policy, equity, and public health approaches
• The history and development of modern palliative care
• Pain assessment, symptom relief, and medication principles
• Breathlessness, fatigue, cough, oedema, and vascular symptoms
• Nausea, vomiting, constipation, feeding difficulties, mouth care, and nutrition
• Skin care, wound management, and pressure injury prevention
• Psychological distress, delirium, sleep problems, and end-of-life symptoms
• Team-based care, communication, leadership, and interprofessional practice
• Hospice, hospital, home, community, and specialist care models
• Self-care, burnout prevention, resilience, and workforce wellbeing
• Dignity, spirituality, meaning, relationships, family care, grief, and bereavement
• Palliative care for children, older adults, frail patients, organ failure, and neurological disease
• Palliative emergencies, ethical decision-making, advance care planning, sedation, and contested end-of-life issues
• Research methods, evidence-based practice, cost-effectiveness, funding, and sustainability