International Perspective Palliative care in Thailand: Development and challenges

Abstract

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia with an estimated population of 67 million people. The majority of Thai are Buddhist. According to the World Bank Report (2016), the Thai GDP per capita averaged $5,977.4 U.S. and Thais live an average of 74.4 years. Cancer and coronary heart disease have been the top leading causes of death in Thailand and more than 50% of the deaths are in hospitals. Thailand was positioned 44th in the quality of death ranking (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2015). In response to an increasing aging population in the near future, a well-developed palliative care provision is needed.