HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced
the release of A Clinical Guide to Supportive
and Palliative Care for HIV/AIDS, which provides
practical, experience-based advice and
authoritative guidelines for clinicians in
providing palliative and supportive services to
their patients living with HIV/AIDS.
"President Bush and I are committed to providing
compassionate care to all people who are
affected by HIV/AIDS," Secretary Thompson said.
"This guide urges clinicians to treat not just
the symptoms of this terrible disease, but to
provide care that meets the physical, emotional
and spiritual needs of the individual."
HHS' Health Resources and Services
Administration, through its HIV/AIDS Bureau,
defines palliative care as patient- and
family-centered care that optimizes quality of
life by active anticipation, prevention, and
treatment of suffering. Such care emphasizes use
of an interdisciplinary team approach throughout
the continuum of illness, placing critical
importance on the building of respectful and
trusting relationships.
"Palliative care, as complementary care, should
be provided throughout the course of HIV/AIDS
progression, not just when a patient nears the
end of life" said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth
M. Duke, Ph.D. "If incorporated into clinical
practice, this guide will help us realize
palliative care's full potential in improving
the overall quality of care and life for those
living with HIV/AIDS."
Editors of the guide include: Peter A. Selwyn,
M.D., M.P.H., director of the Palliative Care
Program at New York's Montefiore Medical Center
and professor and chairman of the Department of
Family Medicine at the Albert Einstein College
of Medicine; Joseph F. O'Neill, M.D., M.P.H.,
director of the White House Office of National
AIDS Policy, and former associate administrator
of HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau; and Helen Schietinger,
M.A., A.C.R.N., a Washington-based HIV policy
analyst who has worked in the field of HIV/AIDS
since 1981, focusing especially on palliative
and community-based care.
The clinical guide is organized into five parts,
focusing on specific aspects of palliative care.
Part I: Introduction - Provides HHS' vision for
use of the guide and presents an overview of the
key issues in HIV/AIDS and palliative care
today.
Part II: Management of Advanced HIV Disease -
Addresses symptoms that cause much of the burden
to patients in more advanced states of HIV
disease. Parts of this section discuss the care
of children and adolescents and psychiatric and
substance use concerns.
Part III: Psychosocial, Cultural and Ethical
Issues - Focuses on the many other dimensions
included in the palliative care approach,
incorporating spirituality, care for the
caregiver, special populations, and ethical and
legal considerations. A special section
highlights palliative care in resource-poor
settings.
Part IV: Care at the End of Life - Emphasizes
the explicit aspects of care that are paramount
when it has become clear that the patient is
nearing the end of life. This section includes
chapters on communication, the transition to
home and hospice care, and a special section on
skin breakdown.
Part V: References for the Clinician - Provides
a resource appendix highlighting Web sites and
sources for further reading and reference tools,
and a comprehensive chapter about the
pharmacologic considerations in using both
HIV-related and palliative medications.
HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau administers the Ryan
White CARE Act, which annually provides HIV/AIDS
care and support services for more than 530,000
low-income, underinsured or uninsured Americans.
HRSA is the lead HHS agency for improving access
to health care for individuals and families
nationwide.
Copies of the guide will be available online at
http://hab.hrsa.gov IN ENGLISH or may be ordered
from the
HRSA
Information
Center
at 1-888-ASK-HRSA (1-888-275-4772).
Note:
All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other
press materials are available IN ENGLISH at
http://www.hhs.gov/news.
Last Revised:
February 25, 2003
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