Antea Worldwide Palliative Care Conference

Rome, 12-14 November 2008

ABSTRACT FORM

Presenting author CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST UNNECESSARY SUFFERING

Teresa Petrangolini
Author: Teresa Petrangolini
Email:
mail@cittadinanzattiva.it
It is now commonly accepted the need to change the culture surrounding pain and suffering
Phone though there remains much to do in deconstructing the myths and prejudices regarding Pain
Therapy.

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appropriate category for your
abstract
• Pain and other symptoms
• Palliative care for cancer patients
• Palliative care for non cancer
patients
• Paediatric palliative care
• Palliative care for the elderly
• The actors of palliative care
• Latest on drugs
• Pain
• Illness and suffering through
media
• Marginalisation and social stigma
at the end of life
• Palliative care advocacy projects
• Prognosis and diagnosis
communication in
different cultures
• Communication between doctor-
patient and patient-
equipe
• Religions and cultures versus
suffering, death and
bereavement
• Public institution in the world:
palliative care policies
and law
• Palliative care: from villages to metropolies
Since 2001 Cittadinanzattiva – Tribunal for Patients’ Rights has been promoting numerous
activities such as: research and monitoring, information campaigns, interlocution with public
institutions with the aim to increase awareness among institutions, health workers and citizens
alike in order to prioritize the struggle against unnecessary suffering in hospitals and home care.
In 2005 Cittadinanzattiva together with an expert working group, in which Antea participated,
drafted a Charter on the Right against unnecessary suffering
1.Right to not suffer needlessly
2.Right for pain to be recognized
3.Right to access pain therapy
4. Right to qualified assistance
5. Right to continual assistance
6. Right to informed and free choice
7. Right for children, elderly and other people whom may have “no voice”
8. Right to not feel pain during invasive or non invasive diagnostic exams
The adoption of the Charter and the formal inclusion of its proclaimed rights would permit the
modifying of clinical practice regarding pain to fit the real needs of patients. This would have
specific impact on those services that have been slow in responding to this problem. The data
coming from the Audit Civic Report for 2005 shows the following:
16% of health agencies do not have Pain management services
Only 6% deliver this care to all levels of assistance
...............Only 45% use guide lines for pain control
....Only 55% have specific training on pain therapy
For these reasons, the priority is to strengthen the Network on Pain therapy, integrating it in the
different levels of care, with the aim to have real continual service and care. Lastly, adequate
measures are required in order to overcome the unequal access to pain therapy between the
different regions.

• Space, light and gardens for the

Session: Advocacy, Marginalization and social stigma
terminally ill patient
• End-of-life ethics Chair of the session: Prof Aldo Morrone
• Complementary therapies
• Education, training and research
• Fund-raising and no-profit
• Bereavement support
• Volunteering in palliative care
• Rehabilitation in palliative care
• Workshop on core curricula