Vulnerability in palliative care: an application and extension of the risk chain model

摘要

The terms 'inequity' and 'vulnerability' have increasingly become popular in publications concerning health research and policy, including those on palliative care. Often, these words are used with ethical connotation but without precise definitions. In addition, despite the seeming affinity between these two terms, it remains vague how they might relate to each other. This paper proposes a way to understand the meaning of, and relationship between, inequity and vulnerability in palliative care. I start by introducing the risk chain model proposed by Alwang and his colleagues that describes how vulnerability occurs. Then I expand the risk chain model from ethical perspectives specifically in the context of palliative care and explore the meaning of inequity and vulnerability in palliative care. The paper concludes with identification of who are the vulnerable in palliative care and when palliative care is inequitable.