Costa Rica
Background:
Since 1994, the Center has actively participated in the Latin American conferences on palliative care that
are held every other year in a different Latin American country (Florianopolis,
Brasil, 1994; Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1996; Concepción, Chile, 1998; San José, Costa Rica, 2000).
Situation:
Since 1998, PAHO has been committed to improving palliative care in the region, including opioid
availability and professional education.
Method:
The Center cooperated with Dr. Eduardo Bruera, WHO Focal Point for Latin America, with Ms. Liliana
De Lima, Liaison to Collaborating Centers for PAHO, and with Dra. Lisbeth Quesada to organize the
regional meeting in San José in 2000. Prior to the meeting, the Center communicated with Latin
American clinicians to assess existing resources (consensus documents, national policies, medical
journals, clinical guidelines, patient education tools) and to develop a basic library of resources about
pain control and palliative care.
Outcomes:
In March 2000, the Center participated as faculty in the 6th Latin American Congress of Palliative Care in
San José, Costa Rica with approximately 130 physicians, nurses, psychologists, regulators and others
from 15 Latin American countries. Dr. Colleau gave a plenary lecture in Spanish "Education for cancer
pain control and palliative care: Resources for Spanish-speaking professionals, patients and families" [La
educación sobre el control del dolor de cancer y el cuidado paliativo: Recursos para
profesionales,
pacientes y familias hispanohablantes].
The Center presented a poster "Organización Mundial de la Salud: Directrices sobre el alivio del dolor del cancer, la disponibilidad de opioides, el control de sintomas y el cuidado paliativo"10 for distribution to meeting participants.
The Center also presented a monograph about Spanish-language resources for education about pain control and palliative care.11 The monograph includes resources produced by PAHO and by professional organizations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain, and the U.S.Finally, the Center distributed the Spanish edition of the WHO Cancer Pain Release newsletter (Volume 12, Number 2) that describes PAHO's commitment to make palliative care accessible in Latin America and the Caribbean and includes contributions from palliative care leaders in Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.12
Evaluation:
Regional meetings in Latin America are a valuable opportunity to exchange information about clinical
and research expertise in the region, to foster cooperation among palliative care groups, to promote
communication between palliative care leaders and representatives of governments, and to gather data on
the practice of palliative care in the region.
This meeting attracted newcomers to palliative care as well as leaders in the field, which is a testimony not only to the educational benefit but also to the maturation of palliative care in the region.
The palliative care groups endorsed the creation of a Latin American Association of Palliative Care to better serve the needs of participants with different degrees of clinical, research and administrative experience at future regional meetings.