Psychosocial Issues in Palliative Care

Caring for patients with a terminal illness requires the skills of many professionals working together as a team. It is the psychosocial issues surrounding patients and their families and carers that cause individual members, and sometimes whole teams, the greatest difficulty. This practical book provides a comprehensive review of the current literature and evidence on the practice and provision of psychosocial support as applied to palliative care patients in order to achieve better practice in the field. The book looks at the nature of services required to provide effective psychosocial care; cultural issues and adaptation; the importance of communication, and socio-economic issues affecting patients with advanced metastatic disease. Information is also included on non-malignant psychosocial care. Patient drawings, poetry and quotations are used throughout.