What Is the Preparedness and Capacity of Palliative Care Services in Middle-Eastern and North African Countries to Respond to COVID-19? A Rapid Survey.
J Pain Symptom Manage
; 61(2): e13-e50, 2021 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-939084
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT Evidence from prior public health emergencies demonstrates palliative care's importance to manage symptoms, make advance care plans, and improve end-of-life outcomes. OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the preparedness and capacity of palliative care services in the Middle-East and North Africa region to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken, with items addressing the WHO International Health Regulations. Nonprobabilistic sampling was used, and descriptive analyses were conducted.RESULTS:
Responses from 43 services in 12 countries were analyzed. Half of respondents were doctors (53%), and services were predominantly hospital based (84%). All but one services had modified at least one procedure to respond to COVID-19. Do Not Resuscitate policies were modified by a third (30%) and unavailable for a fifth (23%). While handwashing facilities at points of entry were available (98%), a third had concerns over accessing disinfectant products (37%), soap (35%), or running water (33%). The majority had capacity to use technology to provide remote care (86%) and contact lists of patients and staff (93%), though only two-fifths had relatives' details (37%). Respondents reported high staff anxiety about becoming infected themselves (median score 8 on 1-10 scale), but only half of services had a stress management procedure (53%). Three-fifths had plans to support triaging COVID-19 patients (60%) and protocols to share (58%).CONCLUSION:
Participating services have prepared to respond to COVID-19, but their capacity to respond may be limited by lack of staff support and resources. We propose recommendations to improve service preparedness and relieve unnecessary suffering.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Palliative Care
/
Attitude of Health Personnel
/
Infection Control
/
Clinical Competence
/
Surge Capacity
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Pain Symptom Manage
Journal subject:
Neurology
/
Psychophysiology
/
Therapeutics
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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