A perspective piece on improving palliative care for people who use alcohol and other drugs, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, highlights the need for more inclusive, compassionate, and person-centred palliative care for people who use alcohol and other drugs. The authors* identify a range of structural, clinical, and attitudinal barriers that prevent this population from accessing quality end-of-life care and propose a shift in how care is designed and delivered.
The key points emphasised are:
- An increasing need for palliative care that addresses the needs of people who use alcohol and other drugs, who experience higher mortality rates and often have complex health needs.
- Barriers to timely and appropriate care, with stigma, both experienced and anticipated, often leading to delays in seeking care, avoidance of services, and mismanagement of symptoms.
- Challenges in clinical management with pain and distress often undertreated due to concerns around opioid tolerance, withdrawal, or substance misuse.
- The need for person-centred and trauma-informed approaches with care that’s co-designed.
- The lack of research and tailored guidelines in Australia.
- Ultimately, this important perspective piece highlights that people who use alcohol and other drugs should not be denied the right to good palliative care. Despite complex care needs or social marginalization, they deserve equitable access to compassionate, appropriate palliative and end-of-life care.
Read the full article here: Improving palliative care for people who use alcohol and other drugs
*Grace FitzGerald1 Jon Cook1,2 Peter Higgs3,4 Charles Henderson3 Sione Crawford5 Thileepan Naren1,2
1 Western Health, Melbourne, VIC, 2 Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3 Burnet Institute, Melbourne, VIC, 4 La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, 5 Harm Reduction Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
Med J Aust 2025; 222 (4): 164-167. || doi: 10.5694/mja2.52585
Published online: 3 March 2025