World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world.

Around the world, communities of compassionate people strive to assist people to live in the place they call home, connect people to services and raise awareness about end-of-life issues. For 19 years, WHPCD has been marked as a day to advocate for better hospice and palliative care services around the world.

Facts from around the globe:

  • Only about 12% of the nearly 60 million adults and children in need of palliative care services receive it

  • Roughly 18 million people die every year with pain and suffering due to lack of access to palliative care or hospice and pain relief

  • 76% of people who need hospice and palliative care are in developing countries 

  • In the UK, approximately 225,000 people receive hospice care and more than 125,000 individuals volunteer with hospice every year

  • More than 94% of people in Hong Kong die in public or private hospitals, a major shift from a generation ago when the majority of Hong Kong embraced hospice care. This shift is thought to be because of a belief that there are a limited number of end-of-life care options and a shortage of facilities that can provide comfort during the final days

  • Until a law was passed in February 2018, hospice care in South Korea was only available through religious organizations, such as Gabari Catholic Organization. Now, any adult over the age of 19 who has a serious illness with a life expectancy of six months or less can refuse medical treatment that could potentially extend their lives.

 

The 2023 theme “Compassionate Communities” is defined as a strong feeling of empathy for people who are suffering and a desire to help them. The definition of compassion is not just to recognize the suffering of others, but to them take action to help.

Ways to participate in WHPCD:

  • Solidarity: add campaigning messages to your personal social media

  • Compassionate Community activities: Compassionate communities address a holistic definition of health that goes beyond simple treatment of symptoms. Take some time to be involved in compassionate community work in your area, such as educating your community or neighbors about your role in hospice and explain the holistic approach to palliative care, host a community event to raise awareness, create conversation around what hospice and palliative care are

  • Engage your community to participate in WHPCD

Source: World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (thewhpca.org)

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