Core elements of a national palliative care policies and strategies

This session leveraged key partners to identify core elements and best practices to creating national palliative care policies, laws and national strategies through human centred design activities including discussion and prioritization exercises.

Key ideas which were identified included by the group:

• Ensuring representation from legal, financial, and service delivery sectors, as well as from civil society, to support a comprehensive and inclusive approach.
• Developing a national strategy which aligns with the six core elements of the WHO Public Health Framework for palliative care integration, using measurable indicators to guide and monitor progress.
• Leveraging pilot palliative care programs to demonstrate the clinical and financial benefits of integrating palliative care into health systems and to serve as a scalable model for national implementation.
• Identifying national and local champions to lead the initiative, and secure dedicated financing as a foundational element of implementation. 
• Creating a Ministry of Health–Commissioned Palliative Care Taskforce, with 12–14 members, at least 50% of them possessing expertise in palliative care. 

A case study from Brazil :

The case study identified key facilitators in Brazil of success including: 

• Forming a national palliative care organization to amplify advocacy power and liaise more effectively with the ministry of health
• Expanding palliative care roles beyond specialists to generalists and primary care providers.
• Creating strong, unified national entities from existing societies to gain formal recognition and advocacy power.
• Involving stakeholders throughout design and implementation phases to enhance effectiveness and sustainability.

Key Resources on the topic include: 

1. The Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance repository of National Palliative Care Plans and Policies https://thewhpca.org/resource_category/laws-regulations-and-national-strategies/
2. Core elements of national cancer control plans: a tool to support plan development and review. 
3. The changing global landscape of national cancer control plans. 
4. Palliative Care in Public Policy: Results from a Global Survey.