The future of palliative care is being shaped by a new generation of doctors, social workers, researchers, and community professionals who are reimagining how care is delivered, advocated for, and sustained.
This edition of the newsletter highlights young professionals who are working across clinical care, community engagement, research, policy, and advocacy—bridging gaps between patients, systems, and decision-makers. Their journeys reflect a shift from hospital-centric models to people-centred, community-focused approaches.
As palliative care faces growing demand in India, young leaders are stepping forward to question existing structures, build evidence, tell powerful stories, and create future-ready solutions. Their voices remind us that the future of care is not only about systems and policies, but about values—compassion, persistence, and shared responsibility.
The Future of Care: Youth Leadership in Palliative Care
Palliative care in India is often seen as a growing need. However, what’s less often recognized is the role young professionals are already playing in shaping its future. Across medicine, social work, research, advocacy, and community engagement, a new generation is redefining what care means, how it is delivered, and who it is meant for.
For many young professionals, the journey into palliative care begins not with certainty, but with discomfort—with unanswered questions about suffering, dignity, and inequality. For Dr. Parth Sharma, physician, researcher, and founding editor of Nivarana, the turning point came early in his career while working in oncology and emergency medicine. Witnessing unnecessary suffering, especially during COVID, led him to confront what he refers to as “the biggest puzzle in healthcare”: why something as basic as pain relief remains so limited. Inspired by Dr. M. R. Rajagopal’s work, he discovered that palliative care and public health provide ways to tackle suffering not just at the bedside but on a systemic level.
This desire to look beyond hospitals and into communities is a strong motivator among young professionals in palliative care. Dr. Parth chose community medicine because, as he puts it, “that’s where the problems lie.” In communities, the reach is wider, the realities clearer, and the impact potentially transformative.