Textbook of Palliative Care

Lieve Van den Block is Professor of Ageing and Palliative Care at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Chair of the Ageing and Palliative Care Research Programme at the End-of-Life Care Research Group of the VUB and Ghent University in Belgium. She holds a Ph.D. in Medical Social Sciences and a master's in Clinical Psychology. Professor Van den Block has been involved in palliative care research for over 15 years, focusing on national and international public health and interventional research aimed at monitoring and improving palliative and end-of-life care. She has received several scientific awards for her work, including the 2014 Early Researcher Award of the European Association for Palliative Care. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles on palliative care and is editor and author of several books and chapters. Her work has been supported by grants from the European Commission, national fundamental and applied research foundations, and leading medical and health charities.

Roderick Duncan MacLeod is a Palliative Medicine Specialist at Harbour Hospice in Auckland, New Zealand, and Consultant to HammondCare in Sydney where he is also Honorary Professor in the University of Sydney, School of Medicine. He gained his primary medical degrees from the University of Dundee in 1976 and went on to train for general practice. He was a Principal in general practice for almost 10 years before moving to the discipline of palliative care. He was first appointed as Medical Director of the Dorothy House Foundation in Bath, England, in 1989 after having completed a period of prolonged study leave exploring palliative care in the community. In 1994, he was appointed Medical Director and subsequently Director of Palliative Care at the Mary Potter Hospice in Wellington, New Zealand. He was made a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK) in 1999. He was a Foundation Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australasian Chapter of Palliative Medicine, in 2000. He received his Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Glamorgan (Prifysgol De Cymru) for his work and publications on "Changing the Way that Doctors Learn to Care for People Who Are Dying." In 2003, he was appointed to New Zealand's first Chair in Palliative Care as the inaugural South Link Health Professor in Palliative Care at the University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine and in 2013 was appointed Conjoint Professor in Palliative Care at the University of Sydney and worked clinically as Senior Staff Specialist in Palliative Care for HammondCare in Sydney. He has been a Member of the Australasian Chapter of Palliative Medicine Education Committee, the NZ National Health Committee -Working Party on Care of People Who Are Dying, the NZ Palliative Care Expert Working Group, and the Council of the Asia Pacific Hospice Network. He was appointed to the Expert Advisory Group (Physician Education) and the Chapter of Palliative Medicine Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the NZ Ministry of Health Palliative Care Advisory Group. He has also held a number of roles within Hospice NZ. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles in the field of palliative care in national and international journals and has written over 20 chapters for palliative care texts. In addition, he has been on editorial boards of international peer-reviewed journals in the field of palliative care and has reviewed manuscripts for over 25 different academic journals. He has also published two anthologies of poetry, exploring what it might be like to approach death and experience bereavement and loss. He is one of the authors of The Palliative Care Handbook, which has become a freely available standard text for healthcare professionals in New Zealand and parts of Australia. He was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's birthday honors in 2015.

Approach and Nature of Palliative Care.- Quality of Life.- Global Aspects of Palliative Care.- Challenges and Future Directions of Palliative Care.- Organization of Palliative Care in Different Parts of the World.- Policies on Palliative Care in Different Parts of the World.- Palliative Care, Towards a New Definition.- Physical, Psychological/Psychiatric, Social and Spiritual Problems and Symptoms.- Pain and Pain Management.- Palliative Management of Breathlessness.- Fatigue.- Edema and Lymphedema.- Gastrointestinal Symptoms: Constipation, Diarrhea, and Intestinal Obstruction.- Gastrointestinal Symptoms: Nausea and Vomiting.- Cachexia/Anorexia and Feeding Difficulties.- Mouth.- Skin Symptoms.- Swallowing Difficulties.- Sleep Difficulties.- Psychological Symptoms.- Delirium and Palliative Care.- Neurological Symptoms.- Genitourinary Symptoms.- End-of-life Symptoms.- Gastroparesis and Cancer-Related Gastroparesis.- Advance Care Planning in Palliative Care.- Prognostication in PalliativeCare.- Spirituality in Palliative Care.- Access to Palliative Care.- Integrated Palliative Care: Clinical, Organizational, and Health System Perspectives.- Family Focused Care Span.- Grief and Bereavement.- Rehabilitation in Palliative Care.- Dietetics and Nutrition in Palliative Care.- Mouth Care.- Creative Art Making in Palliative Care.- Music Engagement and Therapeutic Music.- Sexuality and Intimacy.- Interprofessional Practice in Palliative Care.- Generalists and Specialist Palliative Care.- Nursing and Palliative Care.- Self-Care and Palliative Care.- End of Life Care.- Self-management in Palliative Care.- Education and Palliative Care, Overview.- Palliative Care in Rural Settings.- Home Care, Primary Care.- Palliative Care in Residential Settings.- Hospital Care.- Palliative Care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).- Volunteers in Palliative Care.- Palliative Care and Cancer.- Palliative Care and Neurodegenerative Diseases.- Palliative Care and Stroke.- Palliative Care in Heart Failure.- Palliative care of Respiratory Disease in Primary Care.- Palliative Care and Liver Diseases.- Palliative Care in Kidney Disease.- Palliative Care and Endocrine Diseases.- Palliative Care in Chronic Illness and Multimorbidity.- Palliative care in dementia.- Dealing with a Wound in Palliative Care.- Pressure Area Management in Palliative care.- End of Life Health Care Experiences of Indigenous People and Ethnic Minorities; the example of Canada.- Palliative Care, Frailty and Older People.- Palliative Care of Pediatric Populations.- Palliative Care and Intellectual Disability.- Palliative Care of Indigenous Peoples and Peoples of Different Ethnicity.- Hypercalcemia of Malignancy.- Thromboembolism and bleeding.- Spinal Cord Compression.- Superior Vena Cava Obstruction.- Acute Cancer Pain Syndromes in Palliative Care Emergencies.- Acute Dyspnoea.- Neutropenic Sepsis.- Seizures.- Tumor Lysis Syndrome.- Suicide and Attempted Suicide.- Transfer to a Preferred Place of Death.- ChallengingFamily Dynamics.- Delirium as a Palliative Care Emergency.- Distinguishing and Managing Severe Psychological and Psychiatric Distress.- End-Of-Life Decisions.- Sedation and Terminal Sedation.- Nutrition and Hydration in Palliative Care.- Ethics of home-coming.- Request for Assisted Suicide.- Public Health and Epidemiological Research in Palliative Care.- Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions in Palliative Care.- Mixed Method Research in Palliative Care.- Ethics in Palliative Care Research.- Evidence based Practice in Palliative Care.- New Public Health Approaches to End of Life Care.- A public health approach to integrate palliative care into a country's health care system: guidance as provided by the WHO.- Measuring Cost-Effectiveness in Palliative Care.- Financial Aspects of Inpatient Palliative Care.- Financial Aspects of Outpatient Palliative Care.- Serious Illness and Out-of-Pocket Spending.