A Webinar Series hosted by the Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness that focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms and stress of their illness. The goal of this specialized care is to improve quality of life for the patient and their family and caregivers. Importantly, palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage of a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

Research indicates that most people are unfamiliar with palliative care, and the minority who say they are familiar often hold misconceptions that this type of care is only for people who are dying. As a result, many people who could benefit from palliative care decline these services. Not only does this have an impact on patients’ and families’ quality of life, but this has also affected critical research and implementation efforts including CMMI demonstration projects, PCORI grants, and community outreach projects. In contrast, research shows that when the public does have an accurate understanding of the services provided by palliative care, acceptance is overwhelmingly positive.

In an effort to address the lack of understanding and shift public perceptions about palliative care, The John A. Hartford Foundation and Cambia Health Foundation jointly funded a multistakeholder project entitled "Disseminating Evidence-Based Public Messaging for People Living with Serious Illness" designed to align how the public is introduced to palliative care (as well as hospice, and advance care planning). The project aims to create a groundswell of evidence-based public outreach to increase awareness and understanding of palliative care and engage the public in the important benefits palliative care has to offer.