ArticleBMC palliative care2011
Palliative care making a difference in rural Uganda, Kenya and Malawi: three rapid evaluation field studies.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 103 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of the Methods Used in Rapid Approaches to Research and Evaluation.Evaluation review · 2025Pooled it
- Primary palliative care in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and thematic synthesis of the evidence for models and outcomes.Palliative medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Patient and families' perspectives on telepalliative care: A systematic integrative review.Palliative medicine · 2024Pooled it
- What constitutes a palliative care need in people with serious illnesses across Africa? A mixed-methods systematic review of the concept and evidence.Palliative medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Approaches to integrating palliative care into African health systems: a qualitative systematic review.Health policy and planning · 2020Pooled it
- Effectiveness of eHealth interventions and information needs in palliative care: a systematic literature review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Pooled it
- Trial
- Identification and mapping of mHealth interventions applied in palliative care in Sub Saharan Africa: a scoping review.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Contexts, mechanisms and outcomes of home-based palliative care implementation in low- and middle-income countries: A realist review.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Review
- Community participation and consultation in palliative and end-of-life care: Building death literacy through a participatory theory of change.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Article
- Current trends and identified gaps in dysphagia research in Africa: A scoping review.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2025Article
- Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of palliative care services at five tertiary hospitals in nigeria: a qualitative formative study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Addressing the concept of total pain in palliative care: A postcolonial South African hospice view.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- "…I feel like I am just staying here waiting for death": A qualitative study of the lived experiences of people with advanced illness in refugee settlements in Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- The legal needs of people receiving palliative care in Uganda: A multi-method assessment to advance universal health coverage.Palliative care and social practice · 2025Article
- Health promoting palliative care interventions in African low-income countries: a scoping review.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Palliative care and interventional radiology for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of medical imaging and radiation sciences · 2022Article
- Article
- Physicians' knowledge about palliative care in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study using digital social media platforms.PloS one · 2021Article
- Limited knowledge and access to palliative care among women with cervical cancer: an opportunity for integrating oncology and palliative care in Zimbabwe.BMC palliative care · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMany people live and die in pain in Africa. We set out to describe patient, family and local community perspectives on the impact of three community based palliative care interventions in sub-Saharan Africa.
methodsThree palliative care programmes in Uganda, Kenya and Malawi were studied using rapid evaluation field techniques in each country, triangulating data from three sources: interviews with key informants, observations of clinical encounters and the local health and social care context, and routine data from local reports and statistics.
resultsWe interviewed 33 patients with advanced illness, 27 family carers, 36 staff, 25 volunteers, and 29 community leaders and observed clinical care of 12 patients. In each site, oral morphine was being used effectively. Patients valued being treated with dignity and respect. Being supported at home reduced physical, emotional and financial burden of travel to, and care at health facilities. Practical support and instruction in feeding and bathing patients facilitated good deaths at home.In each country mobile phones enabled rapid access to clinical and social support networks. Staff and volunteers generally reported that caring for the dying in the face of poverty was stressful, but also rewarding, with resilience fostered by having effective analgesia, and community support networks.
conclusionsProgrammes were reported to be successful because they integrated symptom control with practical and emotional care, education, and spiritual care. Holistic palliative care can be delivered effectively in the face of poverty, but a public health approach is needed to ensure equitable provision.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.