Review of article palliative care in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects

Abstract

Background: Health workers seek to cure ailments with surgery, medication and occasionally radiotherapy .In resource constrained settings such as that prevalent in Nigeria however, patients often present with late stage diseases where it is not practical to expect cures . Palliative care seeks to ease the suffering of the many patients who cannot be cured against the back drop of late presentation of patients with life limiting illnesses. It is a relatively new concept in medical practice in Nigeria and has yet to be fully integrated into patient care while encountering limited successes and impediments by health practitioners ,policy makers and occasionally clients.

Method: This is a review article on of various policies and publications concerning Palliative care in Nigeria using different search engines such as Pubmed and Google.

Conclusion: Palliative care implementation in Nigeria is still a work in progress with limited availability in health facilities in the country.

Key words: Palliative care, Pain relief, Oral morphine