Gratitude and palliative care are the focus of an international seminar of the ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care.

"It is surprising that in the midst of end-of-life suffering, gratitude is the protagonist". This was stated by María Arantzamendi, researcher at the ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care of the University of Navarra, on the occasion of the internationalseminar 'Gratitude and Palliative Care', which will be held this Thursday, May 12.

The activity is organized by the project 'The phenomenon of gratitude in the field of palliative care' of the ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care of the ICS, which is led by the expert, and by the Society of Palliative Care of Navarra (PALIAN). Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), led by the expert, and by the Palliative Care Society of Navarra (PALIAN).

From agreementwith Professor Arantzamendi, "gratitude is present in the daily life of health professionals, in their interaction with patients and their families". sourceIn this respect, she mentioned a surveysurvey of Spanish professionals: "94% said that gratitude increased their satisfaction, 91% felt more motivated, 75% felt prouder of their workand, for 90%, it was a source of support at times of professional difficulty".

Mariano Crespo, lecturer at the University's Schoolde Philosophyy Letras and organiser of the workshoptogether with María Arantzamendi, indicated that the phenomenon of gratitude sampleis twofold: "Gratitude for a good goaland gratitude to someone".

"We give thanks, therefore, not only for the good goalgranted by the health professional, but we also thank the person who has granted us this good," he added. "The grateful response is therefore a response to the kindness of the donor.

discussioninterdisciplinary: philosophers, researchers and clinicians

The seminar will address questions such as what patients and their families are grateful for, in what situations they are most grateful, how this transforms the professional and whether culture has an influence. In the last two years philosophers, researchers and clinicians have discussed these issues, within the project subsidized in the ICS internal call 2020. 

Other speakers will include healthcare professionals such as Enric Benito, a doctor specialising in palliative care, former coordinatorof the groupof Spirituality of the Spanish Society of Palliative Care; Julio Gómez, from the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Santurtzi; and María Aparicio, from St. Christopher's Care Centre (UK). 

Other participants include Anthony Steinbock, from Stony Brook University (USA); Mathieu Bernard, from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland); Paulina Taboada and Luca Varela, from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; and professors Mariano Crespo and Sergio Sánchez-Migallón, from the University of Navarra.

The activity is part of the Palliative Medicine line, one of the main axes of the University of Navarra's Strategy 2025. It promotes a social impact-orientedresearch and a scientific production focused, in this case, on the search for personalised solutions for the health care of patients with diseases that involve severe pain.