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Palliative care education in Latin America: A systematic review of training programs for healthcare professionals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2017

Cecilia Vindrola-Padros ,
Rosa Mertnoff ,
Cristina Lasmarias  and
Xavier Gómez-Batiste
Cecilia Vindrola-Padros*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, London, England
Rosa Mertnoff
Affiliation:
Hospital Britanico, Docencia e Investigacion, Buenos Aires, Argentina PALIATIVA Asociacion Civil, Buenos Aires, Argentina Red Federal de Atencion Paliativa y Cronicidad Avanzada, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Cristina Lasmarias
Affiliation:
The “QUALY” Observatory – WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Palliative Care Programmes (WHOCC-ICO), Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain Chair of Palliative Care, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
Xavier Gómez-Batiste
Affiliation:
The “QUALY” Observatory – WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Palliative Care Programmes (WHOCC-ICO), Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain Chair of Palliative Care, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Cecilia Vindrola-Padros, Department of Applied Health Research, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HB, England. E-mail: c.vindrola@ucl.ac.uk.
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Abstract

Objective:

The integration of palliative care (PC) education into medical and nursing curricula has been identified as an international priority. PC education has undergone significant development in Latin America, but gaps in the integration of PC courses into undergraduate and postgraduate curricula remain. The aim of our review was to systematically examine the delivery of PC education in Latin America in order to explore the content and method of delivery of current PC programs, identify gaps in the availability of education opportunities, and document common barriers encountered in the course of their implementation.

Method:

We carried out a systematic review of peer-reviewed academic articles and grey literature. Peer-reviewed articles were obtained from the following databases: CINAHL Plus, Embase, the Web of Science, and Medline. Grey literature was obtained from the following directories: the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care's Global Directory of Education in Palliative Care, the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance's lists of palliative care resources, the Latin American Association for Palliative Care's training resources, and the Latin American Atlas of Palliative Care. The inclusion criteria were that the work: (1) focused on describing PC courses; (2) was aimed at healthcare professionals; and (3) was implemented in Latin America. The PRISMA checklist was employed to guide the reporting of methods and findings.

Results:

We found 36 programs that were delivered in 8 countries. Most of the programs were composed of interdisciplinary teams, taught at a postgraduate level, focused on pain and symptom management, and utilized classroom-based methods. The tools for evaluating the courses were rarely reported. The main barriers during implementation included: a lack of recognition of the importance of PC education, a lack of funding, and the unavailability of trained teaching staff.

Significance of results:

Considerable work needs to be done to improve the delivery of PC education programs in Latin American countries. Practice-based methods and exposure to clinical settings should be integrated into ongoing courses to facilitate learning. A regional platform needs to be created to share experiences of successful training programs and foster the development of PC education throughout Latin America.

Keywords

EducationPalliative careLatin AmericaSystematic review
Type
Review Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: Special Instruments – Assessment and Measure Issues in Palliative Care , February 2018 , pp. 107 - 117
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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