The role of palliative care in addressing the health needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan

Abstract

Refugees are often afflicted with health conditions that require long-term, specialized and continuous care services that are costly and difficult to secure in host countries and camp settings. This study interviewed 21 Syrian refugees in Jordan with life-limiting conditions such as cancer, diabetes, chronic disability and renal failure, and 4 caregivers caring for refugee children with similar conditions. This study found that patients in refugee camps and communities would benefit from receiving palliative care services that are often either unavailable or inaccessible. Training humanitarian teams and primary care providers to implement pain management, offer psychosocial support services and address emotional, spiritual, and psychological conditions could ameliorate many of the problems faced by this vulnerable group.

A systematic review exploring palliative care for families who are forced migrants

“…Physicians incorporating traditional healing were seen as helpful but those who did not, incited anger (Davies, Contro, Larson, & Widger, 2010). Families described the importance of incorporating faith and spirituality into care (Davies et al., 2010) with prayer as a common coping mechanism (Davies et al., 2010; Pinheiro & Jaff, 2018; Sneesby et al., 2011; Wolff et al., 2010).…”

“…Where conflicts were identified, parents reported feeling ignored and unable to make decisions (Davies et al., 2010), fearful of misusing hospital resources (Gulati et al., 2012), cultural misunderstandings, and perceptions of discrimination (Fellin et al., 2013) and racism (Burnes et al., 2008). Pinheiro and Jaff (2018) emphasized the significance of collaborative care as it directly correlated with the perceived quality of care received.…”

“…Healthcare services were criticized by families and professionals for their limited scope, poor availability and accessibility, and often‐dispersed nature (Burnes et al., 2008; Gulati et al., 2012; Khanlou et al., 2015; Kvarme et al., 2016, 2017; Pinheiro & Jaff, 2018). Rigidity and complexity of the system (Brassart et al., 2017; Gulati et al., 2012) were linked to parents' limited understanding of what was available (Fellin et al., 2013; Kvarme et al., 2016) and a lack of knowledge about their child's condition (Beatson, 2013; Burnes et al., 2008).…”

“…Insufficient systematic resources decreased mother's ability to cope (Burnes et al., 2008). Furthermore, some families appeared to be missing out on services and resources (Gulati et al., 2012) and even struggling to get appropriate diagnosis and treatment (Pinheiro & Jaff, 2018).…”

Illness-related suffering and need for palliative care in Rohingya refugees and caregivers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

“…A 2017 systematic review of humanitarian health programs that included palliative care or enhanced pain management identified only one publication fulfilling the selection criteria: a study of a pain treatment program for amputees [6]. Although palliative care projects are taking place in several other humanitarian situations, these have been accompanied by very little formal research [7]. An "essential package" of inexpensive and relatively simple interventions that can deliver effective palliative care and alleviate serious illness-related suffering in a variety of settings has been proposed [2].…”