title: Vietnam: integrating palliative care into HIV/AIDS and cancer care.
abstract: Vietnam is struggling to meet the growing need for both disease-modifying and palliative care for people with life-threatening chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS and cancer. Recently, Vietnam initiated rapid development of a national palliative care program for HIV/AIDS and cancer patients that builds on existing palliative care programs and experience and integrates palliative care into standard HIV/AIDS and cancer care. National palliative care guidelines have been issued by the Ministry of Health based on a rapid situation analysis. Plans now call for review and revision of opioid laws and regulations to increase availability of opioids for medical use, training in palliative care for clinicians throughout the country, and development of palliative care programs both in the community and in inpatient referral centers.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care and Vietnam-CDC-Harvard Medical School AIDS Partnership, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ekrakauer@partners.org
authors.forename: Eric L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Krakauer
authors.forename: Nguyen Thi Minh
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Ngoc
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Kham
authors.forename: Luong Ngoc
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Khue
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000628:therapy*; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002568:Certification; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid