Responding to palliative care training needs in the coronavirus disease 2019 era: The context and process of developing and disseminating training resources and guidance for low: The middle-income countries from Kerala, South India

Sunitha Daniel, Chitra Venkateswaran, Poornima Sunder, Shoba Nair, Rajashree Chittazhathu, Athul Manuel, Biju Raghavan, M. M. Sunil, Vineetha Rijju, Geetha Vijay, Seema Rao, Anupama Prabhu, Uma Parameswaran, Odette Spruijt, M. Rajagopal, Mhoira Leng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Palliative care has an important role to play in the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is integrated and is a key component in the governmental and community structures and services in Kerala, in India. Palliative care in the state has grown to be a viable model recognized in global palliative care and public health scene. The community network of palliative care, especially the volunteers linking with clinical teams, is a strong force for advocacy, relief support including provision of emergency medications, and clinical care. Objective: To develop a palliative care resource tool kit for holistic care of patients affected with COVID-19 and to support the health-care workers looking after them to enable palliative care integration with COVID-I9 management. Methods: The Kerala State government included senior palliative care advisors in the COVID-19 task force and 22 palliative care professionals formed a virtual task force named Palli COVID Kerala as an immediate response to develop recommendations. Results: Developed a palliative care in COVID-19 resource toolkit which includes an e-book with palliative care recommendations, online training opportunities, short webinars and voice over power point presentations. Conclusion: Integrated Palliative care should be an essential part of any response to a humanitarian crisis. The e resource tool kit can be adapted for use in other low- and middle-income countries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)S8-S16
JournalIndian Journal of Palliative Care
Volume26
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 06-2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Health Policy
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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