European Journal of Palliative Care - 2017

Our departing Editor, Professor Julia Riley, reflects on some of the developments in palliative care over the past decade and discusses her hopes for services in the future. And our new Editors, Dr Ros Taylor and Dr Sarah Russell, tell us what’s on their minds.

From small beginnings, the Death Cafe movement has gradually spread to more than 50 countries and become a global phenomenon. Kitty Clark-McGhee, Polly Fitch, Susan Hennessey, Emma Cassidy, David Little and Harriet Conniff adapted the concept for healthcare professionals in the UK. Here, they consider what their series of death cafes achieved.

As is the case in other developing countries, palliative care remains a major unmet need in Bangladesh. Shahaduz Zaman and colleagues present a project undertaken to provide community-based palliative care to people living in two slum towns in Bangladesh.

Abigail Methley, Benjamin Dawson and Alistair Teager review the literature on VHL syndrome, specifically looking at psychological support. Christine and Howard Morris provide some tips for professionals, friends and family when dealing with VHL patients.

Personality can be thought of as a set of attitudes and behaviours that are relatively consistent across time and circumstances. Jenny Strachan continues her series about psychological ideas in palliative care by looking at issues surrounding personality disorders in palliative care patients and offers guidance for healthcare professionals when establishing professional relationships with patients with different personality disorders.

Michael is a 43-year-old gentleman who works as an antiques dealer, a job that has taken him all over the world. Although originally from Norway, he is now based in central London, where he lives with his wife, Ava, who is a dress designer, and their clever four-year-old daughter Mia. in December 2013 at the age of 40, Michael presented to his GP with a history of increasing abdominal pain, marked weight loss and bloating.

Sílvia Caldeira, Sara Pinto and Manuel Luís Capelas describe the provision of spiritual care at the end of life in Portugal, focusing on the activities of the multidisciplinary spirituality group established by the Portuguese Palliative Care Association.

In this first part of a two-part article, Joanna Davies, Derek Willis and Rob George continue our series on Ethics and Legal Matters with an examination of the philosophical principle known as the double effect. Part I unpicks the history and theory behind the concept, while Part II looks at current applications and evidence in clinical practice. Part II will appear in issue 24(5).

Tamara Klikovac and David M Steinhorn trace the development of paediatric palliative care in Serbia and find that it has a long way to go until it begins to approach the growing provision of palliative care for adults.