Understanding the Difference Between Hospice and Palliative Care

While both hospice and palliative care focus on comfort, dignity, and quality of life, they serve individuals at different points in their health journey.

Palliative care is specialized medical support for people living with serious or chronic illness—at any age and at any stage of the disease. It can be provided alongside curative treatments and helps manage symptoms, ease emotional distress, and support decision-making. Palliative care teams work in hospitals, clinics, or at home and often collaborate with a person's existing doctors.

Hospice care, on the other hand, is offered when a person is approaching the final months of life—typically with a prognosis of six months or less if the illness follows its natural course. Hospice focuses fully on comfort rather than cure, often in the home, and includes support for both the individual and their loved ones. The emphasis is on holistic, heart-centered care that honors the natural process of dying.

In short, palliative care can begin early in an illness, while hospice care begins when treatments are no longer sought or effective, and the focus shifts entirely to end-of-life comfort.

Both are deeply valuable models of care that prioritize the human experience in times of vulnerability—and death doulas can play a meaningful role in supporting families through either path.

Lesson Summary

Both hospice and palliative care share a focus on comfort, dignity, and quality of life, catering to individuals in different stages of their health journey:

• Palliative care:
  • Medical support for individuals living with serious or chronic illnesses.
  • Available at any age and stage of the disease.
  • Can be combined with curative treatments.
  • Aims to manage symptoms, alleviate emotional distress, and aid decision-making.
  • Provided in hospitals, clinics, or homes, often in conjunction with existing medical teams.
• Hospice care:
  • Administered when an individual is in the final months of life, typically with a prognosis of six months or less.
  • Focuses on comfort rather than cure.
  • Primarily delivered at home with support for both the individual and their loved ones.
  • Emphasizes holistic and heart-centered care in line with the natural process of dying.

Palliative care can start early in an illness, working alongside curative treatments, while hospice care commences when treatments are no longer sought or effective, and the focus shifts entirely to end-of-life comfort. Both models of care prioritize the human experience during times of vulnerability. Death doulas play a crucial role in supporting families through either hospice or palliative care paths.