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Annex 5
Sample curricula in palliative care for primary health care providers ----------------------------------- 71
Annex 6
 
Links ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------76
Annex 7
Glossary ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------78

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v
A WHO guide for planners, implementers and managers
Foreword
The World Health Assembly has resolved that palliative care is “an ethical responsibility of health systems” 
and that integration of palliative care into public health care systems is essential for the achievement of the 
Sustainable Development Goal on universal health coverage (WHA 67.19). Yet palliative care and symptom 
relief are rarely accessible in a number of countries. As a result, suffering on a massive scale remains 
unrelieved, and progress toward universal health coverage is at risk. The World Health Assembly also has 
called for Member States to “put people at the centre of health care” by providing “comprehensive primary 
care services, including health promotion, disease prevention, curative care and palliative care, that are 
integrated with other levels of care” (WHA 62.12). 
The great majority of people who need palliative care prefer to remain at home, thus, it is medically and 
ethically necessary that palliative care be provided in the community, as part of primary health care. It is 
neither possible nor necessary that palliative care specialists provide most palliative care and symptom 
relief. Primary health care providers with basic training in palliative care and symptom relief can respond 
effectively to most palliative care needs and arrange for transfer to a higher level of care when necessary. 
Emphasis should be given to continuity of care, respect for patients’ values, equitable access to services, 
and attention not only to patients but also to their families.
This manual is part of a series of WHO publications on palliative care. Their objective is not to provide clinical 
guidelines, but rather practical guidance on integrating palliative care and symptom relief into health care 
systems. It is intended, to assist anyone involved with planning, implementing, managing or assuring 
the quality of PHC to integrate palliative care and symptom control. With this guide, WHO reiterates its 
commitment to answering the needs and expectations of all people, especially the most vulnerable.
Dr Naoko Yamamoto
Assistant Director-General
Universal Health Coverage and Health Systems
World Health Organization
Geneva
Switzerland

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Integrating palliative care and symptom relief into primary health care