Developing situation, existing problems and prospects of palliative care in China

Palliative care is a kind of medical nursing service that provide for patients with severe incurable disease or chronic disease at the final stage and their family members, to relieve their discomfort and pain, and improve their quality of life (QOL). Palliative care pays attention to the patients′ QOL, and it is important to the medical value orientation and the civilization and progress of society, so it is an important livelihood issue. However, there are still some problems such as low social cognition, insufficient supply of service, and no professional team in the palliative care of our country. This paper put forward some suggestions for the future work through elaborating the existing problems in the developing situation of palliative care home and abroad. We hope that this can reinforce people′s understanding to palliative care, and change human′s attitude and idea about the terminal stage of life. Key words: Review; Palliative care; Quality of life; Developing situation