Modern Encyclopedia of Palliative Care: A Compassionate Guide to Comfort, Dignity, and Healing at Life's Close

Modern Encyclopedia of Palliative Care is a compassionate, deeply informative guide to the care of people living with serious, advanced, or life-limiting illness. It brings together the science, clinical practice, ethics, and human heart of palliative care in one accessible reference for healthcare professionals, students, caregivers, educators, and anyone seeking a clearer understanding of comfort-centered care.This book explains that palliative care is not simply about the final days of life. It is about relieving suffering, improving quality of life, supporting families, honoring dignity, and helping patients live as fully and peacefully as possible through every stage of serious illness. With a balanced approach, it addresses the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, ethical, and practical realities that shape the care of patients and families at life’s close.What’s inside the book:The nature, philosophy, and purpose of palliative careGlobal access, policy, equity, and public health approachesThe history and development of modern palliative carePain assessment, symptom relief, and medication principlesBreathlessness, fatigue, cough, oedema, and vascular symptomsNausea, vomiting, constipation, feeding difficulties, mouth care, and nutritionSkin care, wound management, and pressure injury preventionPsychological distress, delirium, sleep problems, and end-of-life symptomsTeam-based care, communication, leadership, and interprofessional practiceHospice, hospital, home, community, and specialist care modelsSelf-care, burnout prevention, resilience, and workforce wellbeingDignity, spirituality, meaning, relationships, family care, grief, and bereavementPalliative care for children, older adults, frail patients, organ failure, and neurological diseasePalliative emergencies, ethical decision-making, advance care planning, sedation, and contested end-of-life issuesResearch methods, evidence-based practice, cost-effectiveness, funding, and sustainabilityInside, readers will find guidance on symptom relief, care planning, teamwork, dignity, spirituality, bereavement, ethics, special populations, emergencies, research, and the financial realities of sustaining compassionate care.More than a medical reference, this book is a reminder that care does not stop when cure is uncertain. There is still comfort to give, suffering to ease, families to support, meaning to preserve, and dignity to protect.Whether you are a healthcare professional, student, caregiver, educator, or reader seeking to understand end-of-life care more deeply, Modern Encyclopedia of Palliative offers a balanced, humane, and practical resource for learning what good care can look like when life is most fragile.A compassionate guide for anyone who believes that every person deserves comfort, respect, and peace at life’s close. Read more