The prevalence of life-limiting illness at a Ugandan National Referral Hospital: a 1-day census of all admitted patients
Title
The prevalence of life-limiting illness at a Ugandan National Referral Hospital: a 1-day census of all admitted patients
Creator
Jacinto A; Masembe V; Tumwesigye Nazarius Mbona; Harding R
Identifier
Publisher
Bmj Supportive & Palliative Care
Date
2014
Description
BACKGROUND: Although models of hospital-based palliative care are common in high-income countries, they are rare in low-income countries despite the high burden of progressive disease. AIM: To measure the proportion of all adult and child patients admitted with previously diagnosed active life-limiting disease, who therefore may be appropriate for palliative care provision, across all beds. DESIGN: One-day 24 h census using chart review across every ward and department. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: All admitted patients at a large tertiary referral hospital in sub-Saharan Africa. RESULTS: Of 1763 reviewed patients, 663 (37.7%) had a diagnosed active life-limiting disease. Of these, 130 (19.6%) were children. The most prevalent diagnoses were HIV (41.7%), cancer (41.5%) and heart disease (9.2%). During the 24 h census period 19 patients died (population mortality rate 0.01%). CONCLUSIONS: In order to appropriately respond to need, hospital-based palliative care services in low-income settings must be of adequate size to respond to high prevalence of life-limiting illness, and to provide education and support to clinical colleagues managing all patients with life-limiting disease.
2014-11
Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Type
Journal Article
Citation List Month
Backlog
URL Address
Citation
Jacinto A; Masembe V; Tumwesigye Nazarius Mbona; Harding R, “The prevalence of life-limiting illness at a Ugandan National Referral Hospital: a 1-day census of all admitted patients,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed December 5, 2023, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/14944.