The origins and development of the modern hospice movement in the context of ongoing demographic and social changes in thw world

The modern hospice movement in the world owes its contemporary image to the actions of Cicely Saunders in the 1960s. The initiatives undertaken in the field of palliative care at the time resulted in the development of services supporting dying patients and their families. Hospice care has its origins in the development of the history of societies in ancient times. In successive historical epochs, one can observe specific changes related to society's attitude towards illness, dying, and patients' specific care needs. The aim of this paper is to present and describe the changes that have occurred within projects related to the implementation of services for the dying and their families. The outline of the historical context will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the contemporary image of the hospice movement in the world and to understand why current palliative care initiatives support specific groups involved in the so-called limit situations. The presented description is based on the thematic content analysis of domestic and foreign literature and will cover the period from ancient to modern times.