Awareness of palliative care in Nigeria poor, severe illnesses need compassionate community —Experts

Head, Institute of Medical Research and Training, Professor Ikeoluwa Ajayi, has said compassionate communities, where people show empathy and share care, can help individuals with terminal illnesses cope and respond better to treatment.

Ajayi, who spoke at the 2023 World Hospice and Palliative Care Day by the Department of Hospice and Palliative Care, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, in collaboration with the Centre for Palliative Care, Nigeria, said without these, pain, which is a common symptom of severe illnesses, will not subside with painkillers as expected.

Ajayi, the Director of the Institute for Medical Research and Training (IMRAT) at the College of Medicine, said the attainment of a better quality of life for individuals with severe illnesses through a compassionate community is the ultimate goal of palliative care.

According to her, many terminally-ill patients have symptoms that are difficult to control, such as pain and vomiting, and some are unable to eat, which contribute to their poor quality of life.

Professor Ajayi declared that access to care among terminally ill patients is a challenge, adding that more people are needed to work as carers alongside health professionals, in order to support the provision of community palliative care.

In her welcome address, Head of the Department of Hospice and Palliative Care, Dr Yetunde Oloyede, said the public is ignorant about palliative care, although it provides total care, including treating and managing other symptoms in people with chronic illnesses like sickle cell disease, HIV, cancer and chronic neurological illnesses.

Dr Oloyede said many people requiring palliative care are usually not referred appropriately by health providers but are left to suffer unnecessarily and to have a poor quality of life.

Mrs Oluwatoyin Edalere, a chief nursing officer at the Hospice and Palliative Care, stressed the need to inculcate habits like good nutrition, exercise, rest, personal and environmental hygiene and sleep to ensure healthy living.

Edalere, who warned against self-medication, said adults must be vaccinated against infections like yellow fever and tetanus, adding that healthy living saves money from the treatment of illnesses and ensures stable memory, good sleep and healthy ageing.