National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care

The field of palliative care is evolving rapidly as the health care system responds to a burdened economy and aging society. Palliative care provides an opportunity to meet the needs of seriously ill patients and those at the end of life. This chapter reviews the work of the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care, which has established clinical practice guidelines for the field. Eight domains of care include Structure and Processes of Care; Physical Aspects of Care; Psychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Care; Social Aspects of Care; Spiritual, Religious, and Existential Aspects of Care; Cultural Aspects of Care; Care of the Patient at the End of Life; and Ethical and Legal Aspects of Care. Nurses play a vital role across each of the domains, developing and sustaining structures and processes of care to ensure quality palliative care that extends across patient groups, across diseases, and across settings of care.