Published on: April 3, 2023

Textbooks or Chapters in textbooks:

  1. Sunilkumar M M and Rajagopal M.R, 2019. “Pain management and Palliative Care”. In Sasidharan PK. eds. Doctor’s pocket companion, 2nd ed. New Delhi , pp.1167-1188.
  2. Rajagopal MR. The current status of palliative care in India. In: Magrath I (Ed); Cancer Control 2015: Cancer Care in Emerging Health Systems. INCTR. Brussels. 2015. Available also at http://www.cancercontrol.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/57-62-MR-Rajagopal-.pdf (Accessed 25 September 2015.)
  3. Sunilkumar M M and Rajagopal, M.R., 2018. Magnitude of the Problem and Barriers of Adequate Cancer Pain Management in Developing Countries. In Bhatnagar S eds. A Comprehensive Handbook of Cancer Pain Management in Developing Countries . Seattle,WA: IASP Press
  4. Powell RA, Blanchard CL, de Lima L, Connor SR, Rajagopal MR. Cancer Therapy in Developing Countries: The Role of Palliative Care; In: Alt-Epping B, Nauck F (Ed); Palliative Care in Oncology. Springer. New York. 2015.
  5. M.R. Rajagopal and Reena George: Providing palliative care in economically disadvantaged countries. In: Cherny N, Fallon M, Kaasa S. Portenoy RK, Currow D DC (Eds), Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine 5th ed. Oxford University Press. Oxford; 2015.
  6. Rajagopal MR. Setting up a Pain Management Program. In: Kopf A, Patel N; Guide to Pain Management in Low Resource Settings. IASP Press. Seattle; 2009.
  7. Rajagopal MR. Pain in the Developing World. In: Castro-Lopes J (Ed). Current Topics in Pain. iASP Press. Seattle. 2009.
  8. Wenk R, Mosoiu D, Rajagopal MR. Cancer pain and palliative care in the developing world. In: Bruera ED, Portenoy RK (ed). Pain – Assessment and Management. Cambridge University Press. New York. 2009.
  9. Rajagopal MR. Pain and Palliative Care. In: Doctor’s Pocket Companion; Sasidharan PK (Ed). Jaypee brothers. Delhi; 2006.
  10. De Lima L, Wenk R, Rajagopal MR, Mosoiu D, Gwyther E, Bruera E. Palliative Care in developing countries: Argentina, India, Romania and South Africa. In: Emmanuel L (Ed). Palliative Care: Core skills and clinical competencies. Saunders; Philadelphia. 2005.

Publications in Scientific Journals:

  1. Ghoshal A; Mathew A; Rajagopal MR. Dying with dignity in India: What is new in 2023? BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care 2023;0:1–3. doi:10.1136/spcare-2023-004353
  2. Libby S, Richard S, Emeritus SHA, Afsan B, Charlotte C, Yali C, Brett D, Luckson D, Robin D, Eric A F, Sam G, Melanie H, Bettina SH, Allan K, Celia K, Felicia MK, Emeritus SAM, Julia N, Seamnus O’, Rajagopal MR, Sarah R, Eriko S, Katherine ES, Sheldon S, Ros T, Mpho Tv, Katrina W. Report of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death: bringing death back into life, 2022 January 31; pg 8, 14 (36-38); https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02314-X
  3. Sunilkumar, M.M., Finni, C.G., Lijimol, A.S., Rajagopal MR. Health-Related Suffering and Palliative Care in Breast Cancer. Curr Breast Cancer Rep (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12609-021-00431-1
  4. Sunilkumar MM, Thampi A, Lekshmi S, Harman SM, Vallath N. “Relax City Homecare team; protocols are ready for you” – A quality improvement project conducted on behalf of the city homecare unit team at the Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences. Indian J Palliat Care 2021;27(2):204-10.
  5. Lijimol AS, Krishnan A, Rajagopal MR, Gopal BK, Booth CM. Improving Access and Quality of Palliative Care in Kerala: A Cross-sectional Study of Providers in Routine Practice. Indian J Palliat Care. 2020 Oct-Dec;26(4):500-505. doi: 10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_17_20. Epub 2020 Nov 19. PMID: 33623312; PMCID: PMC7888431.
  6. Glass M, Rana S, Coghlan R, Lerner ZI, Harrison JD, Stoltenberg M, Namukwaya E, Humphreys J. Global Palliative Care Education in the Time of COVID-19. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Oct;60(4):e14-e19. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.07.018. Epub 2020 Jul 24. PMID: 32717367; PMCID: PMC7380234.
  7. Rosa WE, Krakauer EL, Farmer PE, Karanja V, Davis S, Crisp N, Rajagopal MR. The global nursing workforce: realising universal palliative care. Lancet Glob Health. 2020 Mar;8(3).
  8. Radbruch. L., De Lima. L., Knaul. F., Wenk. R., Ali. Z., Bhatnagar. S., Blanchard. C., Bruera. E., Buitrago. R., Burla. C., Callaway M., Munyoro. E.C., Centeno. C., Cleary. J., Connor. S., Davaasuren. O., Downing. J., Foley. K., Goh. C., Gomez-Garcia. W., Harding. R., Khan. Q.T., Larkin. P., Leng. M., Luyirika. E., Marston. J., Moine. S., Osman. H., Pettus. K., Puchalski. C., Rajagopal. M. R., Spence. D., Spruijt. O., Venkateswaran. C., Wee. B., Woodruff. R., Yong. J., Pastrana. T,. 2020. Redefining Palliative Care-A New Consensus-Based Definition. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 60(4) (Oct): 754-764.
  9. Rajagopal. M.R. 2020.To comfort always: Are we ignoring this duty in Covid protocols? Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. V(3) (Jul-Sep): 189-191.
  10. Sloka. Iyengar., Kaley. Kantor., Sunu. Cyriac., Keerthi. Remadevi., Vidhya. Usha., Sherin. Robinson., Ashla.Rani., M.R.Rajagopal., Ann. Broderick. 2021. No Family Should Suffer from Cervical Cancer Twice -The Palliative Care Role in HPV Prevention. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 10 (July): S0885-3924(21)00420-6.
  11. Daniel. S., Venkateswaran. C., Sunder. P., Nair. S., Chittazhathu. R.K., Manuel. A.J., Raghavan. B., Kumar. M.M.S., Rijju. V., Vijay. G., Rao. S., Prabhu. A.V, Parameswaran. U., Spruijt. O., Rajagopal. M.R., Leng. M. 2020. Responding to Palliative Care Training Needs in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Era: The Context and Process of Developing and Disseminating Training Resources and Guidance for Low- and Middle-Income Countries from Kerala, South India. Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 26(Suppl 1) (Jun;): S8-S16.
  12. Bhojaraja, Mohan V., Pankaj Singhai, MM Sunil Kumar, and M. Sreelatha. “Withdrawal from dialysis: Why and when?.” Indian Journal of Palliative Care 27, no. 5 (2021): 30.
  13. Nambiar. A.R., Rana. S., Rajagopal. M.R. 2021. Serious health-related suffering and palliative care in South Asian countries. Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care. 1;15(3) (Sep): 169-173.
  14. Lorenz KA, Mickelsen J, Vallath N, Bhatnagar S, Spruyt O, Rabow M, Agar M, Dy SM, Anderson K, Deodhar J, Digamurti L, Palat G, Rayala S, Sunilkumar MM, Viswanath V, Warrier JJ, Gosh-Laskar S, Harman SM, Giannitrapani KF, Satija A, Pramesh CS, DeNatale M. The Palliative Care-Promoting Access and Improvement of the Cancer Experience (PC-PAICE) Project in India: A Multisite International Quality Improvement Collaborative. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 Jan;61(1):190-197. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.08.025. Epub 2020 Aug 25. PMID: 32858163; PMCID: PMC7445485.
  15. Krakauer. E.L., Kwete. X., Kane. K., Afshan. G., Bazzett-Matabele. L., Bien-Aimé. D.D.R, Byrne-Martelli. S., Connor. S., Correa. R., Devi. C.R.B., Diop. M., Gafer. N., Goodman. A., Grover. S., Hasenburg. A., Irwin. K., Thanh. Khanh. Q., Kumar. S., Nevzorova. D., Truong. Q.X.N., Rajagopal. M.R., Randall. T., Rassouli. M., Sessa. C., Spence. D., Torode. J.S., Trimble. T., Varghese. C., Fidarova. E. 2021. Cervical Cancer-Associated Suffering: Estimating the Palliative Care Needs of a Highly Vulnerable Population. Journal of Global Oncology. 7 (Jun):862-872.
  16. Daniel. S., Venkateswaran. C., Sunder. P., Nair. S., Chittazhathu. R.K., Manuel. A.J., Raghavan. B., Kumar. M.M.S., Rijju. V., Vijay. G., Rao. S., Prabhu. A.V., Parameswaran. U., Spruijt. O., Rajagopal. M.R., Leng. M. 2020. Responding to Palliative Care Training Needs in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Era: The Context and Process of Developing and Disseminating Training Resources and Guidance for Low- and Middle-Income Countries from Kerala, South India. Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 26(Suppl 1) (Jun): S8-S16.
  17. Rao SR, Spruijt O, Sunder P, Daniel S, Chittazhathu RK, Nair S, Leng M, Sunil Kumar MM, Raghavan B, Manuel AJ, Rijju V, Vijay G, Prabhu AV, Parameswaran U, Venkateswaran C. Psychosocial Aspects of COVID-19 in the Context of Palliative Care – A Quick Review. Indian J Palliat Care. 2020 Jun;26(Suppl 1):S116-S120. doi: 10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_183_20. Epub 2020 Jun 30. PMID: 33088100; PMCID: PMC7535017.
  18. Smith R; Blazeby J, Bleakley T, Clark J, Cong Y, Durie R, Finkelstein E, Gafer N, Gugliani S, Horton R, Johnson M, Kitzinger C, Kitzinger J, Knaul F, Kraus A, Neuberger J, O’Connell M, O’Mahony S, Rajagopal MR, Sase E, Solomon S, Smith R, Taylor R, Wyatt K. Lancet Commission on the Value of Death. Lancet. 2018 Oct 13;392(10155):1291-1293
  19. Kiss-Lane T, Spruijt O, Day T, Lam V, Ramchandran KJ, Chan S, Hsin G, Vallath N, Bhatnagar S, Rajagopal MR, Lorenz KA. Palliative care clinicians and online education in India: a survey. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2018 Oct 9. pii: bmjspcare-2018-001546. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-001546.
  20. Centeno C, Sitte T, de Lima L, Alsirafy S, Bruera E, Callaway M, Foley K, Luyirika E, Mosoiu D, Pettus K, Puchalski C, Rajagopal MR, Yong J, Garralda E, Rhee JY, Comoretto N. Documento de Posición Oficial sobre la Promoción Global de Cuidados Paliativos: Recomendaciones del Grupo Internacional Asesor PAL-LIFE de la Academia Pontificia de la Vida, Ciudad del Vaticano. J Palliat Med. 2018 Oct;21(10):1398-1407.
  21. Sunilkumar MM, Lockman K. Practical pharmacology of methadone: A long-acting opioid. Indian J Palliat Care 2018;24:S10-4
  22. Centeno C, Sitte T, de Lima L, Alsirafy S, Bruera E, Callaway M, Foley K, Luyirika E, Mosoiu D, Pettus K, Puchalski C, Rajagopal MR, Yong J, Garralda E, Rhee JY, Comoretto N. White Paper for Global Palliative Care Advocacy: Recommendations from a PAL-LIFE Expert Advisory Group of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Vatican City. J Palliat Med. 2018 Oct;21(10):1389-1397. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2018.0248. Epub 2018 Sep 26.
  23. Krishnan A, Rajagopal MR, Karim S, Sullivan R, Booth CM. Palliative Care Program Development in a Low- to Middle-Income Country: Delivery of Care by a Nongovernmental Organization in India. J Glob Oncol. 2018 Sep;(4):1-8. doi: 10.1200/JGO.17.00168.
  24. Doyle KE, El Nakib SK, Rajagopal MR, Babu S, Joshi G, Kumarasamy V, Kumari DP, Chaudhuri P, Mohanthy S, Jatua D, Lohman D, Amon JJ, Palat G. Predictors and Prevalence of Pain and Its Management in Four Regional Cancer Hospitals in India. J Glob Oncol. 2018 Sep;(4):1-9. doi: 10.1200/JGO.2016.006783. Epub 2017 Apr 13.
  25. Krakauer EL, Kwete X, Verguet S, Arreola-Ornelas H, Bhadelia A, Mendez O, Rodriguez nM, Ali Z, Allende S, Cleary JF, Connor S, Danforth K, Lima Ld, Gwyther L, Hamzah E, Jamison DT, Khanh QT, Kumar S, Luyirika E, Merriman A, Mpanumusingo E, Nevzorova D, Ntizimira C, Osman H, Perez-Cruz P, Rajagopal M. R., Radbruch L, Spence D, Stoltenberg M, Tapela N, Watkins DA, Knaul F. Palliative Care and Pain Control. In: Jamison DT, Gelband H, Horton S, Jha P, Laxminarayan R, Mock CN, Nugent R, editors. Disease Control Priorities: Improving Health and Reducing Poverty. 3rd edition. Washington (DC): The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank; 2017 Nov 27. Chapter 12.
  26. Pettus K, De Lima L, Maurer M, Husain A, Connor S, Torode J, Ling J, Downing J, Rajagopal MR, Radbruch L, Pastrana T, Luyirika EB, Goh C, Marston J, Cleary J. Ensuring and Restoring Balance on Access to Controlled Substances for Medical and Scientific Purposes: Joint Statement from Palliative Care Organizations. J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2018 Sep 10:1-5. doi: 10.1080/15360288.2018.1488792
  27. Vallath N, Rajagopal MR, Perera S, Khan F, Paudel BD, Tisocki K. Access to pain relief and essential opioids in the WHO South-East Asia Region: challenges in implementing drug reforms. WHO South East Asia J Public Health. 2018 Sep;7(2):67-72. doi: 10.4103/2224-3151.239416.
  28. Salins N, Gursahani R, Mathur R, Iyer S, Macaden S, Simha N, Mani RK, Rajagopal MR. Definition of Terms Used in Limitation of Treatment and Providing Palliative Care at the End of Life: The Indian Council of Medical Research Commission Report. Indian J Crit Care Med. 2018 Apr;22(4):249-262. doi: 10.4103/ijccm.IJCCM_165_18.
  29. Rajagopal M R. Methadone is now available in India: Is the long battle over?. Indian J Palliat Care 2018;24, Suppl S1:1-3
  30. Knaul FM, Farmer PE, Krakauer EL, De Lima L, Bhadelia A, Jiang Kwete X, Arreola-Ornelas H, Gómez-Dantés O, Rodriguez NM, Alleyne GAO, Connor SR, Hunter DJ, Lohman D, Radbruch L, Del Rocío Sáenz Madrigal M, Atun R, Foley KM, Frenk J, Jamison DT, Rajagopal MR; Lancet Commission on Palliative Care and Pain Relief Study Group. Alleviating the access abyss in palliative care and pain relief— an imperative of universal health coverage: the Lancet Commission report. The Lancet. Published online October 12, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32513-8. Available at http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(17)32513-8.pdf.
  31. Mathew A; Rajagopal M.R. Care of the Terminally Ill Patient in India: Comments on the Proposed Legislation. J Glob Oncol. 2016 Oct 5;3(3):278-279. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5493226/
  32. Rajagopal MR, Karim S, Booth CM. Oral Morphine Use in South India: A Population-Based Study. J Glob Oncol. 2017 Feb.
  33. Vallath N, Tandon T, Pastrana T, Lohman D, Husain SA, Cleary J, Ramanath G, Rajagopal MR.
    Civil-society driven drug policy reform for health and human welfare – India. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2016 Dec 29.
  34. Rajagopal MR. We have a Responsibility. Indian J Palliat Care. 2016 Jul-Sep;22(3):239-43.
  35. Krakauer EL, Rajagopal MR. End-of-life care across the world: a global moral failing. Lancet. 2016 Jul 30;388(10043):444-6.
  36. Rajagopal MR. Access to palliative care: insights into ground realities post-2014 amendment to NDPS Act. Indian J Med Ethics. 2016 Jan-Mar;1(1):25-30.
  37. Rajagopal MR, Ito K. Pain in Bali. J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2015;29(4):408-11.
  38. Sunilkumar MM, Boston P, Rajagopal MR. Views and attitudes towards sexual functioning in men living with spinal cord injury in Kerala, South India. Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 2015;21(1),pp.12-20
  39. Sunilkumar MM, Boston P, Rajagopal MR. Sexual Functioning in Men Living with a Spinal Cord Injury-A Narrative Literature Review. Indian J Palliat Care. 2015 Sep-Dec;21(3):274-81.
  40. Fiedler L, Elsner F, Rajagopal MR, Pastrana T. Associations to pain and analgesics in Indian pain patients and health workers. Pain Manag. 2015 Sep;5(5):349-58. doi: 10.2217/pmt.15.36. Epub 2015 Aug 14.
  41. Powell RA, Mwangi-Powell FN, Radbruch L, Yamey G, Krakauer EL, Spence D, Ali Z, Baxter S, De Lima L, Xhixha A, Rajagopal MR, Knaul F. Putting palliative care on the global health agenda. Lancet Oncol. 2015 Feb;16(2):131-3. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(15)70002-1.
  42. Paudel BD, Ryan KM, Brown MS, Krakauer EL, Rajagopal MR, Maurer MA, Cleary JF. Opioid availability and palliative care in Nepal: influence of an international pain policy fellowship. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2015 Jan;49(1):110-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2014.02.011. Epub 2014 Apr 21.
  43. Rajagopal MR, Khan AJ, Muckaden M, George R, Gupta H, Leng MEF, Palat G, Patel F, Raghaven B, Reddy SK, Sunilkumar MM, Tiruvadanan M, Connor SR. Creation of minimum standard tool for palliative care in India and self-evaluation of palliative care programs using it. Indian Journal of Palliative Care, 2014;20:3; 201-7.
  44. Cleary J, Ddungu H, Distelhorst SR, Ripamonti C, Rodin GM, Bushnaq MA, Clegg-Lamptey JN, Connor SR, Diwani MB, Eniu A, Harford JB, Kumar S, Rajagopal MR, Thompson B, Gralow JR, Anderson BO. Supportive and palliative care for metastatic breast cancer: Resource allocations in low- and middle-income countries. A Breast Health Global Initiative 2013 consensus statement. Breast. 2013 Aug 21. pii: S0960-9776(13)00217-8. doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2013.07.052. [Epub ahead of print]
  45. Pallium India, International Association For Hospice And Palliative Care, Pain Policy Studies Group. A morphine manifesto. J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2012 Jun;26(2):144-5.
  46. Elsner F, Schmidt J, Rajagopal M R, Radbruch L, Pestinger M. Psychosocial and spiritual problems of terminally ill patients in Kerala, India. Future Oncol. 2012.8(9) 1-8.
  47. Rajagopal M.R. Where is the evidence for pain, suffering, and relief – can narrative help fill the void? (Editorial Commentary). J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2011;25 (1):25-8.
  48. Emanuel N, Simon MA, Burt M, Joseph A, Sreekumar N, Kundu T, Khemka V, Biswas B, Rajagopal MR, Emanuel L. Economic impact of terminal illness and the willingness to change it.Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2010; 13:8; 941-4
  49. Rajagopal MR. Disease, dignity and palliative care (Editorial commentary). Indian Journal of Palliative Care. 2010; 16:2. 59-60.
  50. Rajagopal MR. Pain, suffering and pain relief – a global perspective. British Pain News. Spring 2009. 22-24.
  51. Sharma S, Rajagopal MR, Palat G, Singh C, Haji AG, Jain D. A Phase II Pilot Study to Evaluate Use of Intravenous Lidocaine for Opioid-Refractory Pain in Cancer Patients. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2008 July 1. (Epub ahead of print)
  52. Rajagopal MR, Joranson DE. India: opioid availability – an update. J Pain Symptom Manage 2007; 33:5: 615-622.
  53. Rajagopal, MR. Palliative care: an urgent need for most of the world. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 2007; 64:3, 301-307
  54. Rajagopal MR; Pain and Beyond. Indian J Palliative Care. 2006; 12:1; 4-7.
  55. Rajagopal MR; Pain – Basic considerations. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia. 2006; 50:5; 331-334 (http://www.ijaweb.org/temp/IndianJAnaesth505331-624173_172017.pdf).
  56. Palat, G. and Rajagopal, M. (2006). Pain relief on a shoe-string budget: Experience from Kerala, India. Proceedings of the 11th World Congress on Pain (eds. H. Flor. et al.). IASP Press, Seattle.
  57. Palat G, Biji MS, Rajagopal MR; Pain management in cancer cervix. Indian J Palliative Care.2005; 11:2: 64-73.
  58. Hariharan B, Rajagopal MR; Paroxetine in the treatment of severe non-dermatological pruritus. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2005;29(2):115.
  59. Raghavan B, Palat G, Rajagopal MR. Are out patients getting palliative care too late? An audit. . Indian J Palliative Care.2005; 11:2: 108-10.

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