Palliative Care and Hospice Care: What is the difference?

Summary

Palliative care and hospice care both provide support for people with serious illnesses, but they serve different purposes. Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life for patients at any stage of illness and can be combined with treatments aimed at curing or managing the illness. Hospice care, on the other hand, is for patients who have six months or less to live and are no longer seeking curative treatments. Both types of care emphasize comfort, symptom relief, and emotional support, with services available at home, in hospitals, or care facilities.

Takeaways

• 💡 Palliative care and hospice care both support individuals with serious illnesses, but differ in purpose and timing.
• 🏥 Palliative care is specialized medical care for those with serious illnesses like cancer or dementia, aimed at improving quality of life.
• 💊 Palliative care patients can receive symptom management while continuing treatment for their illness.
• 🎯 The primary goal of palliative care is to improve a person's quality of life by preventing or easing suffering.
• 👩‍⚕️ The palliative care team helps patients and families make difficult healthcare decisions.
• 🏠 Palliative care can be provided in various settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, specialized facilities, or at home.
• 📆 Hospice care is for individuals with serious illnesses who choose to stop curative treatment, typically when they have six months or less to live.
• 🙏 Hospice care focuses on improving quality of life and supporting both the patient and their family during the end-of-life stage.
• 💞 Hospice care provides emotional and spiritual support to both patients and their loved ones.
• ⚕️ Hospice care includes pain and symptom relief, as well as help with advance care planning, and can be provided at home, in hospitals, or nursing homes.

Q & A

What is the main difference between palliative care and hospice care?

The main difference is that palliative care can be provided at any stage of a serious illness, while hospice care is typically provided when a person has six months or less to live and has decided to stop treatments aimed at curing the illness.

What types of illnesses may require palliative care?

Palliative care is for people with serious illnesses such as cancer, dementia, or any other life-threatening condition where symptom management and quality of life are a concern.

Can palliative care be combined with curative treatments?

Yes, patients in palliative care can receive treatment to help slow or stop their illness while also receiving care to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.

Where can palliative care be provided?

Palliative care can be provided in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, palliative care facilities, or in the patient's home.

When is hospice care typically recommended?

Hospice care is typically recommended when a person has six months or less to live and either cannot or chooses not to continue treatments aimed at curing or controlling their illness.

What is the primary goal of both palliative and hospice care?

The primary goal of both palliative and hospice care is to improve the patient’s quality of life by managing symptoms, reducing suffering, and providing emotional and spiritual support.

How do palliative care teams support patients and families?

Palliative care teams work to ease suffering and help patients and their families make difficult healthcare decisions, providing support through emotional, medical, and decision-making challenges.

What additional services might hospice care provide that palliative care does not?

Hospice care often includes additional services such as emotional and spiritual support for both the patient and family, advance care planning, and specialized end-of-life care.

Where can hospice care be delivered?

Hospice care can be delivered in hospitals, nursing homes, specialized hospice facilities, or at home, depending on the patient’s needs and situation.

How can someone learn more about palliative and hospice care?

To learn more, individuals can visit the National Institute on Aging’s website at www.nia.nih.gov/palliative-hospice for further resources and information.

Outlines

00:00

💡 Introduction: Understanding Palliative and Hospice Care

This paragraph introduces the key topic of palliative and hospice care. It explains that both types of care are intended for people with serious illnesses but seeks to clarify the differences between them. It sets up the discussion on how to determine which option is more appropriate based on individual circumstances.

🏥 What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is described as specialized medical care for individuals suffering from serious illnesses, such as cancer or dementia. The focus is on symptom management and improving the patient's quality of life. Palliative care includes medical treatment to slow or stop the progression of the illness and involves a dedicated team to help with difficult healthcare decisions. This type of care can be provided in various settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, palliative care facilities, or at home.

⏳ What is Hospice Care?

Hospice care is introduced as a form of care for people with serious illnesses who either cannot or choose not to continue curative treatments. It is typically for individuals who are expected to live six months or less. Similar to palliative care, hospice focuses on improving the quality of life, but with an emphasis on end-of-life care. The care also extends to supporting the emotional and spiritual needs of both the patient and their family.

⚕️ Hospice Services and Symptom Relief

This section highlights the specific services that hospice care may provide, including relief from symptoms and pain management, emotional and spiritual support, and assistance with advance care planning. It also outlines the flexibility of hospice care delivery, which can take place in hospitals, homes, or nursing facilities, depending on the patient’s preferences and condition.

🌐 Learn More About Palliative and Hospice Care

The final paragraph directs readers to a resource for further information about palliative and hospice care, specifically the National Institute on Aging’s website. It encourages individuals to explore more about these two types of care to make informed decisions.

Keywords

💡Palliative care

Palliative care is specialized medical care for individuals living with serious illnesses such as cancer or dementia. Its primary focus is to improve a patient's quality of life by managing symptoms and alleviating suffering. The script highlights that palliative care can be given alongside treatments aimed at curing or slowing the illness, and it can be provided in various settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, or at home.

💡Hospice care

Hospice care is a type of care specifically designed for individuals who are nearing the end of their lives, typically when they have six months or less to live. Unlike palliative care, hospice care is for patients who have chosen to stop treatments that aim to cure or control their illness. The script emphasizes that hospice care focuses on comfort, symptom relief, and emotional and spiritual support for both the patient and their family.

💡Serious illness

A serious illness refers to any condition that significantly affects a person's quality of life and requires medical intervention, such as cancer, dementia, or other chronic diseases. The script explains that both palliative and hospice care are intended for people with serious illnesses, but the specific approach depends on the patient's stage in the illness and treatment choices.

💡Quality of life

Quality of life in the context of palliative and hospice care refers to the overall well-being and comfort of a patient. Both types of care aim to enhance quality of life by alleviating symptoms, reducing pain, and providing emotional and psychological support. The script frequently mentions that the primary goal of both palliative and hospice care is to improve the patient’s quality of life during their illness.

💡Symptoms

Symptoms are the physical or mental conditions that result from a serious illness, such as pain, nausea, or difficulty breathing. Palliative care focuses on managing these symptoms alongside treatment for the illness, while hospice care provides relief when curative treatments are no longer pursued. Managing symptoms is a central theme in both types of care as described in the script.

💡End-of-life care

End-of-life care refers to the support and medical care given during the time surrounding death, particularly in hospice care settings. It involves managing pain, offering emotional and spiritual support, and helping families cope with their loved one’s passing. The script associates end-of-life care with hospice services, which often take place when a patient has six months or less to live.

💡Family support

Family support in palliative and hospice care involves providing emotional, spiritual, and practical assistance to the patient's family members. Both types of care help families cope with the difficulties of managing a loved one’s serious illness and, in hospice care, support them through the process of death. The script mentions that this support includes making difficult healthcare decisions and dealing with grief.

💡Advance care planning

Advance care planning refers to the process of making decisions about the care one would want to receive if they become seriously ill and unable to communicate their wishes. In hospice care, this planning is essential for addressing end-of-life decisions, such as the use of life support or other medical interventions. The script mentions advance care planning in the context of helping families make decisions about future medical care.

💡Emotional support

Emotional support is the psychological and emotional care provided to both patients and their families, helping them cope with the stress, anxiety, and grief associated with serious illness or death. The script highlights emotional support as a key component of hospice care, where it helps families handle the emotional burden of end-of-life care.

💡Spiritual support

Spiritual support involves addressing the spiritual or religious needs of patients and their families, often helping them find meaning or comfort in the face of serious illness or death. In the script, spiritual support is mentioned as a part of hospice care, where it assists both the patient and their family in dealing with end-of-life concerns and preparing for the death of a loved one.

Highlights

Palliative care is specialized medical care for anyone living with a serious illness, such as cancer or dementia.

Palliative care focuses on improving a patient's quality of life by managing symptoms and preventing or easing suffering.

Patients in palliative care can receive treatment that may slow or stop the progression of their illness while also receiving care for their symptoms.

Palliative care can be provided in various settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, specialized facilities, or the patient's home.

The palliative care team helps patients and their families make complex health care decisions.

Hospice care is for individuals with serious illnesses who have six months or less to live or who have decided to stop curative treatments.

Hospice care, like palliative care, focuses on improving quality of life by managing symptoms and providing emotional and spiritual support.

Hospice care supports both patients and their families during end-of-life care, helping them cope with illness and the impending loss.

In hospice care, patients can receive relief from symptoms and pain, as well as assistance with advance care planning.

Hospice care may include emotional and spiritual support services for both the patient and family members.

Both palliative and hospice care are designed to improve the patient's quality of life, but hospice care is specific to end-of-life care.

Hospice care can be provided in various settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, or the patient’s home, based on individual needs.

Palliative care can be given at any stage of a serious illness, while hospice care is provided when a person has six months or less to live.

Hospice care helps families manage grief, offering emotional and spiritual counseling.

To learn more about palliative and hospice care, individuals can visit www.nia.nih.gov/palliative-hospice.

Transcripts

Palliative Care and Hospice  Care: What is the difference? 

Palliative care and hospice care are two types of care for people with a serious illness. 

But what’s the difference between the two types of care?

And how do you know which one is right for you or your loved one?

Let’s start with palliative care.

Palliative care is specialized medical care for anyone living with a serious illness, such as cancer or dementia.  

Patients in palliative care can receive medical care for their symptoms, along with treatment that is meant to help slow or stop their illness. 

The main goal is to improve a person's quality of life.

The palliative care team works to prevent or ease suffering and help patients and their families make difficult health care decisions. 

Palliative care can be delivered  in a hospital, nursing home,  

palliative care facility, or at your home.

Hospice care is a type of care for people with serious illnesses who cannot or choose not to continue their treatment to cure or control their illness. 

While palliative care may occur at any time during a serious illness,

hospice care typically occurs when a person has six months or less to live. 

Hospice care is similar to palliative  care in that it aims to help improve a person’s quality of life.

It also helps family members cope with their loved one’s illness and death.  

Depending on symptoms and end-of-life care wishes,  

hospice care may include services such as emotional support and spiritual support for the person and their family.

Hospice care could also include, relief of symptoms and pain, and help with advance care planning.

Depending on the situation, it can be provided in the hospital,

at home, or in a facility, such as a nursing home. 

To learn more about palliative care and hospice care, visit www.nia.nih.gov/palliative-hospice.