How can we improve palliative care patient outcomes in low- and middle-income countries? Successful outcomes research in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Palliative care has striven to be evidence-based and to measure and prove its outcomes, although the population we serve offers significant challenges in determining and measuring outcomes. Within low- and middle-income countries, there has been comparatively little outcome evidence in relation to the numbers of patients seen and the magnitude of need for palliative care. Here we report a novel collaborative effort to measure and improve outcomes for patients and families receiving palliative care in two sub-Saharan African countries.