ABSTRACT
The chapter introduces how citizenship social work with older people at the end of life is enriched by knowledge and understanding of palliative care. It explains the distinctive role of social work in healthcare settings and services for older people. Social work and palliative care are also not direct equivalents. Palliative care is a specialized multiprofessional practice, which often includes social work, within a wider healthcare service. Compared with the broad remit of social care’s role with all older people needing services, palliative care has a more specific focus on pain and symptom management where people are in the dying phase of their lives because of a diagnosed medical condition. An important principle of palliative care is that it is holistic care, often described as the incorporation of emotional, psychological, social and spiritual care with the physical care provided by nursing and medicine.
