More than half of Spanish universities do not train their doctors in palliative care.

Only 43% of Spanish universities teach palliative care to future medical and nursing professionals, despite the fact that the training university education is one of the great keys to the development of this special care. The same is true in Europe, where more than half of the countries also do not offer training in this field. This is one of the conclusions of the recently published Atlas of Palliative Care in Europe 2025 , a study that offers the most comprehensive and accurate map to date of the status of palliative care on the continent.

The research has been led by the ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care , of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra, in partnership with the European association for Palliative Care (EAPC).

This Thursday, the World congress of the European association of Palliative Care , held in Helsinki (Finland), hosted its presentation . Dr. Carlos Centeno , researcher main, explains that this edition “represents a leap in quality compared to the previous ones”: “The improvement is due to the use of a more rigorous methodology, the new framework conceptual framework of the World Health Organization (WHO), of which ATLANTES is the center partner , and the participation of more than 200 experts specifically trained for this task.”

Unacceptable gap

Another of the data The most worrying aspect revealed by the Atlas is the unequal access to essential pain medicines . In Central and Eastern European countries, only 30% of countries have oral morphine widely available in their health centers. In contrast, in Western Europe (which includes Spain), access is common in 83% of countries. This unacceptable gap sample the urgency of equitably integrating palliative care into all health systems on the continent.

As for the issue of specialized palliative care services , the research sample A growth of nearly 10% compared to 2019 in Europe. In total, more than 7,000 services are registered, and the trend is positive. However, a marked gap persists between Western Europe and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The most affluent states, such as Austria, Switzerland, and Sweden, have twice as many services per inhabitant as the rest of the world. average European, which stands at 0.96 services per 100,000 inhabitants .

In Spain, the issue of specialized services amounts to 450, which represents 0.95 services per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 0.6 recorded in the previous study). This figure is still far from the standard recommended by the European Society for Palliative Care , which proposes at least two services per 100,000 inhabitants .

Still, there is reason for hope: palliative care is gradually expanding and is beginning to reach particularly vulnerable populations, such as children. The case of pediatric palliative care reflects this trend: although improvements remain insufficient, specific services have now been identified in 41 countries, compared to the 38 counted in the 2019 study.

Without a palliative care law

Every year, more than four million people die in Europe (200,000 in Spain) from severe health-related suffering , including around 100,000 children. The main causes of these deaths are diseases requiring a high level of palliative care. In Spain, these are cancer (45%), dementia (13%), lung disease (11%), and cerebrovascular disease (9%). However, only 15 European countries —one in four—currently have an updated and evaluated national palliative care strategy . Spain is not among them.

Furthermore, only nine countries have C a specific national law on palliative care : France, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Armenia, Luxembourg, Germany, Albania, and Austria. The latter, the most recent, legally recognizes palliative care as a right and guarantees its public funding , marking a decisive step forward in patient protection.

Thanks to its visual design , which includes maps and infographics, the Atlas of Palliative Care in Europe seeks to be a tool internship for promotion and awareness in all countries. It can be viewed free of charge online on the ICS website and also purchased in print through Amazon on demand.

This atlas is the second in a series of five publications that will compile, for the first time, a global map of palliative care . The one dedicated to the Asia-Pacific region was launched in Malaysia last April, and the ones for Africa, North America, the Caribbean and South America, and the Eastern Mediterranean will be released in the coming months.