Distress, Demoralisation And Depression In Palliative Care

Recognition and management of distress is an integral part of total health care. Whereas most physical symptoms can be fairly effectively ameliorated in palliative care, existential distress poses a distinct hurdle for many clinicians. When patients or their families express anguish, despair and dread, our clinical response must draw on a range of management skills, many of which constitute the most fundamental forms of good supportive medicine. This paper aims to equip the practitioner with a clinical approach to issues of distress.