Cultural Challenges in Implementing Palliative Services in Lebanon
Journal Title: Palliative Medicine & Hospice Care – Open Journal - Year 2017, Vol 0, Issue 1
Abstract
Palliative Care (PC) is a relatively new discipline in Lebanon with some progress being made in recent years. Based on our clinical experience, we describe and discuss the cultural aspects of palliative care, the attitudes and the practice of physicians and nurses in PC, and the challenges to implement it in our country. In our society, death is a taboo subject that is rarely discussed, even with patients at the end-of-life. Under family pressure, physicians do not inform the patients about their diagnosis or prognosis. With the extraordinary progress of medicine, more deaths occur in institutions. These advances, in a context of repression of death, lead to overmedicalization of the end-of-life and to the exclusion of the dying person. Several trends in health care today decrease the chance of cancer patients to have access to palliative care. These range from limited availability of palliative care services, to the philosophy of patient care that dominates our health care system. Most patient care in our country is disease oriented. Care is usually complex, and treatment involves many medical specialties with fragmentation and limited coordination of patient care. One approach is to transform the current disease-focused approach to a patient-centered philosophy. With the aging of our population and the increasing number of cancer patients in Lebanon, the need for PC teams and programs will also increase. The recognition of the specialty by the Ministry of Health and the adequate reimbursement for PC services will encourage physicians in training to consider careers in PC. Education of professionals in palliative care and clarification of the concept to the general public are also essential steps to improve PC.
Authors and Affiliations
Marie Claire Mouhawej
Keywords
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- EP ID EP560806
- DOI 10.17140/PMHCOJ-SE-1-104
- Views 160
- Downloads 0
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