COVID-19, suffering and palliative care: A review
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2022
Abstract
According to the WHO guideline, palliative care is an integral component of COVID-19 management. The relief of physical symptoms and the provision of psychosocial support should be practiced by all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. In this review, we aim to provide a simple outline on COVID-19, suffering in COVID-19, and the role of palliative care in COVID-19. We also introduce 3 principles of palliative care that can serve as a guide for all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients, which are (1) good symptom control, (2) open and sensitive communication, and (3) caring for the whole team. The pandemic has brought immense suffering, fear and death to people everywhere. The knowledge, skills and experiences from palliative care could be used to relieve the suffering of COVID-19 patients.
Keywords
COVID-19, Suffering, Palliative care, Symptom control, Communication, Team care
Divisions
fac_med
Funders
None
Publication Title
American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine
Volume
39
Issue
8
Publisher
Sage Publications Inc
Publisher Location
2455 TELLER RD, THOUSAND OAKS, CA 91320 USA