Cancer & Palliative Care

Approximately 7-10 million people require palliative care services in India every year. However, less than 4% of this population has access to it. ASAR has collaborated with Pallium India to understand the inequity in access to palliative care at the state and district levels.

India has a large burden of cancer cases. However, less than 1% of patients in India have access to palliative care. A comprehensive assessment of palliative care needs is crucial for the scale-up of palliative care services in India.

The lack of trained human resources is a barrier to palliative healthcare service delivery. To improve access to palliative care, healthcare providers must be trained and equipped with the confidence and skills to manage patients with palliative needs.

Drugs are one of the most essential components of palliative care service delivery. In this project, we analyse the adequacy of national and state essential drug lists to meet palliative care needs. 

A large proportion of the Indian population access private healthcare, which contributes to out-of-pocket expenditure. The role of health Insurance is to protect against incurring OOPE. With the rising need for palliative care, it is essential to assess the coverage of palliative care services in private health insurance plans in India. 

 Cancer is associated with significant financial toxicity. We aim to develop and validate a socioculturally relevant financial toxicity tool that can record the financial toxicity of patients with cancer.