Integrating palliative care and symptom relief into responses to humanitarian crises

Krakauer, Eric L.; Daubman, Bethany‐Rose; Aloudat, Tammam

doi:10.5694/mja2.50295

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…This group is generally most neglected during a crisis situation as their needs are considered low priority. [ 5 ] However the stress and challenges shared by patients and caregivers reveal how the lack of services to this group impacts their physical, social and emotional health. [ 6 ] It demonstrates that in the absence of any services for palliative care during a crisis, patient and caregiver needs would go unaddressed-leaving patients in pain and caregivers in guilt, affecting their grieving process significantly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palliative care interventions from a social work perspective and the challenges faced by patients and caregivers during COVID-19

Dhavale

Koparkar

Fernandes

2020

Indian J Palliat Care

107

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Aim: The aim of this article is to describe the range of challenges faced by both patients and caregivers during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also seeks to describe the nature of interventions provided by the social work team to address these challenges. In addition, it aims to highlight the lessons that can be learnt in supporting families on palliative care in such unique disaster situations. Methods: This exploratory study uses a qualitative approach and analyses the perceptions of patients, their caregivers, and the staff in providing care. Out of 30 patients worked with during the lockdown period, a total of nine families were selected that had received services during this time. The challenges faced and the interventions provided were analyzed using Framework analysis. We then used this framework to develop the themes that have been presented in the article. Results: The analysis indicates that the range of challenges faced by patients included physical distress due lack of availability of medicines and nursing care; emotional distress due to the interruption of cancer treatment; financial and social distress about loss of incomes, isolation; and spiritual distress due to the uncertainty of last rites as well as fulfilment of last wishes. The concerns outlined by caregivers included: living with guilt due to the inability to ease their relative's distress; the stress of constant care giving; lack of information about available services and confidence to ask for help from others as well as the dealing with the grief of a dying relative. These families were supported through telephone calls and home visits for critical patients with the social work team providing active listening, reassurance, empathy, and networking to assist patients and families at this time. Conclusion: Palliative care is an essential component, especially in a disaster-related situation such as the COVID pandemic as patients and caregivers are left more vulnerable at this time. Telephonic and video calls play an important role in supporting patients and caregivers and in the most critical cases. However, it is also important to find the ways to provide direct home-based support to patients and families at this time so that they feel less alone, cope better, and experience meaningful support to build their resilience.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palliative care interventions from a social work perspective and the challenges faced by patients and caregivers during COVID-19

Dhavale

Koparkar

Fernandes

2020

Indian J Palliat Care

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Integrating palliative care will require additional but modest investment to ensure adequate policy, team structures, education and training, medications, and supplies. Ultimately additional specialized and focused resources will be needed [8].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Access to palliation, and more specifically the alleviation of avoidable physical and psychosocial suffering, have been affirmed as fundamental human rights [1][2][3][4][5]. Palliative care is also increasingly recognized as a necessary component of humanitarian practice [6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aid when ‘there is nothing left to offer’: Experiences of palliative care and palliative care needs in humanitarian crises

Schwartz

Nouvet

Laat

et al. 2023

PLOS Glob Public Health

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Access to palliative care, and more specifically the alleviation of avoidable physical and psychosocial suffering is increasingly recognized as a necessary component of humanitarian response. Palliative approaches to care can meet the needs of patients for whom curative treatment may not be the aim, not just at the very end of life but alleviation of suffering more broadly. In the past several years many organizations and sectoral initiatives have taken steps to develop guidance and policies to support integration of palliative care. However, it is still regarded by many as unfeasible or aspirational in crisis contexts; particularly where care for persons with life threatening conditions or injuries is logistically, legally, and ethically challenging. This article presents a synthesis of findings from five qualitative sub-studies within a research program on palliative care provision in humanitarian crises that sought to better understand the ethical and practical dimensions of humanitarian organizations integrating palliative care into emergency responses. Our multi-disciplinary, multi-national team held 98 in-depth semi-structured interviews with people with experiences in natural disasters, refugee camps in Rwanda and Jordan, and in Ebola Treatment Centers in Guinea. Participants included patients, family members, health care workers, and other staff of humanitarian agencies. We identified four themes from descriptions of the struggles and successes of applying palliative care in humanitarian settings: justification and integration of palliative care into humanitarian response, contextualizing palliative care approaches to crisis settings, the importance of being attentive to the ‘situatedness of dying’, and the need for retaining a holistic approach to care. We discuss these findings in relation to the ideals embraced in palliative care and corresponding humanitarian values, concluding that palliative care in humanitarian response is essential for responding to avoidable pain and suffering in humanitarian settings.

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“…5,6 Lastly, Krakauer et al provided guidance on integrating palliative care and symptom relief into humanitarian emergencies. 10 Although much has been written regarding palliative care provision during infectious threats, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] there remains a paucity of literature describing how best to practically and quickly develop new care models to meet patients' needs and reduce capacity stress. The development of the PCCU is an example of an innovative reallocation of palliative care resources to address rapidly evolving needs of patients, colleagues, and a hospital system.…”

Section: Discussion: Reflections On Factors For Success and Unique Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation in a Crisis: Lessons Learned from the Rapid Development of an End-of-Life Palliative Care Unit during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Drutchas

Kavanaugh

Cina

et al. 2021

Journal of Palliative Medicine

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COVID-19 strained our nation's hospitals and exposed gaps in care. As COVID-19 surged in Boston in March 2020, we worked to rapidly create a Palliative Care Compassion Unit (PCCU) to care for those dying of COVID-19 or non-COVID-19-related illnesses. The PCCU provided interdisciplinary end-of-life care, supported families, and enabled surge teams to focus on patients needing life-sustaining treatments. In this study, we describe the creation of the PCCU, including opportunities and challenges, in hopes of lending insight to other palliative care teams who may need to rapidly craft new care models during a crisis.

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Integrating palliative care and symptom relief into responses to humanitarian crises

Cited by 10 publications

References 6 publications

Palliative care interventions from a social work perspective and the challenges faced by patients and caregivers during COVID-19

Palliative care interventions from a social work perspective and the challenges faced by patients and caregivers during COVID-19

Aid when ‘there is nothing left to offer’: Experiences of palliative care and palliative care needs in humanitarian crises

Innovation in a Crisis: Lessons Learned from the Rapid Development of an End-of-Life Palliative Care Unit during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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