Synergizing Expertise: Transforming Palliative Care in India Through Collaboration
– Dr Arun Ghoshal (Manipal) and Ms Archana Ganesh (Bengaluru)
Collaboration is the cornerstone of palliative care. In our experience, a collaboration between healthcare professionals and administrators/marketing professionals can significantly enhance the reach, accessibility, and impact of palliative care. While a doctor’s medical expertise ensures quality care for patients facing life-limiting illnesses, the strategic insights of an administrator/marketing professional can help overcome systemic and societal barriers.
We have tried to explore this aspect through our limited observations and experiences in palliative care.
Awareness and Education
Palliative care remains an underrecognized field in India due to a lack of awareness among the public and healthcare providers. A marketing professional can develop campaigns to educate communities about the importance of palliative care, demystify misconceptions, and reduce stigma. For instance, culturally sensitive storytelling through digital platforms, advertising informative snippets about palliative care on social media, sharing updates about advances in palliative care on social media, publishing infographics, and grassroots initiatives such as planning street plays or puppet shows can effectively communicate how palliative care improves the quality of life for patients and families. Collaborative efforts can lead to campaigns that resonate deeply, using language, imagery, and culturally and emotionally impactful narratives.
Policy Advocacy
Palliative care often suffers from inadequate policy support and funding in India. Administrators/marketing professionals can use data-driven strategies to craft compelling advocacy campaigns targeted at policymakers and healthcare stakeholders. For instance, at the macro level, these administrators/marketing professionals can help initiate or strengthen the implementation of the National Program for Palliative Care, the amended NDPS Act 2014, or advocate for active uptake of the Advance Medical Directives in 2023. At a more micro level, these campaigns can emphasize the economic and social benefits of investing in palliative care infrastructure, such as reduced hospital costs and improved patient satisfaction. Presenting results of specific indicators from patients receiving palliative can also help strengthen the integration of palliative care services across a hospital. Combined with the doctor’s expertise in presenting clinical evidence, the collaboration can create a strong case for integrating palliative care into institutional and national health programs.
Service Delivery Models
India’s diverse population and limited healthcare resources necessitate innovative service delivery models. A marketing professional can help design and promote scalable models like telemedicine, community-based care, and mobile palliative care units. They can analyze market needs, identify underserved regions, and develop targeted outreach strategies. For example, leveraging analytics to understand patient demographics and preferences can help optimize resource allocation or offer a particular type of service delivery model, or a Home/community-based service delivery model can be adopted in places where such care delivery models are preferred, ensuring that services reach those who need them the most.
Once, I accompanied a team visiting a patient’s home in Jammu who lives on a boat house on Dal Lake. We learned that the person couldn’t access care due to several logistical and practical reasons. This insight helped the social worker to now follow up on the phone or try and arrange support as needed. The team has now also begun to provide home care for only those patients who live on the lake.
In another instance, there was a case where the patient was not agreeable to allow the home care vehicle to come to their home due to the stigma associated with cancer. The team then talked to the neighbors to address their concenrs and bust myths allowing for care to be rendered seamlessly.
– Archana
Partnerships and Fundraising
Palliative care programs often rely on philanthropic funding and partnerships. An administrator/marketing professional’s skills in building networks and pitching to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives can attract financial and institutional support. Collaborating with the doctor to highlight success stories and patient impact can make fundraising efforts more persuasive. Additionally, partnerships with NGOs, government agencies, and private healthcare providers can expand the reach and sustainability of palliative care services. Collaborative training programs tailored to regional needs, sponsored service delivery models (e.g., receiving donations towards homecare vehicles, conducting health camps, etc.), or partnering with other associations are some of the ways in which collaborations can help further the scale and scope of palliative care services offered by organizations.
Training and Capacity Building
The collaboration can focus on capacity building to address the shortage of trained palliative care professionals. The doctor can provide domain-specific expertise in training healthcare workers, while the administrators/marketing professionals can design and promote these programs to maximize participation. The Administrator or marketing professional will have the bandwidth to initiate contact and follow up with national / state government officials to offer training programs for in-service healthcare professionals, thereby helping integrate palliative care services within a country’s Public Health System. Effective branding and outreach on various social media platforms can ensure that training programs offered by an institution can gain much-needed visibility among medical students, volunteers, and the various cadres of healthcare workers, fostering a stronger palliative care workforce.
Behavioural Change and Community Engagement
A marketing professional’s understanding of consumer behavior can significantly enhance community engagement initiatives aimed at promoting the acceptance of palliative care. Campaigns that address cultural barriers—such as the Death Cafes can help reshape public perceptions. By designing and implementing initiatives to reduce stigma and increase the acceptance of palliative care, we can improve the utilization of community care services. Furthermore, a marketing professional or administrator can create targeted campaigns for various healthcare disciplines to raise awareness about the role and benefits of palliative care. This approach encourages greater acceptance and integration of palliative care in patient management. Conducting regular community engagement initiatives within the palliative care sector fosters a sense of togetherness and unity among community members. Garnering and leveraging the buy-in from community gatekeepers, support groups, caregivers, or volunteers is also a great way to diffuse practices leading to behavioral change within a community. By aligning these efforts with the doctor’s insights into patient and family needs, the collaboration can foster a more compassionate approach to end-of-life care.
Such collaborations can potentially propel the development of palliative care in India. Challenges such as limited awareness, inadequate policy support, and gaps in service delivery can be addressed effectively by combining clinical expertise with strategic insights. These collaborations will certainly drive initiatives to improve the accessibility and quality of palliative care provided. by creating sustainable models well-integrated within a country’s public/private health system and institutions.
Disclaimer: The views represented in the article belong to the Authors and not to the institutions they are affiliated with.
About the Authors:
Dr Arun Ghoshal is a Palliative Care Physician at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. He holds an MD in Palliative Medicine from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
Ms Archana Ganesh is the Program Manager of Projects and Advocacy at the Indian Association of Palliative Care. She holds a Master’s in Public Health from the PHFI’s Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar and a Master’s in Business Administration from Christ University, Bengaluru.