Palliative care for people who use drugs during communicable disease epidemics and pandemics: A scoping review on access, policies, and programs and guidelines

SAGE Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care

This episode features Dr Jenny Lau (Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Division of Palliative Care, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada) and Dr. Daniel Buchman (Everyday Ethics Lab, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, Toronto, ON, Canada)

What is already known about the topic?

• Communicable disease epidemics and pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, intensify the healthcare inequities encountered by people who use drugs.

• Pandemics are expected to increase the demand for palliative care resources.

• People who use drugs with life-limiting illnesses experience inequities in access to palliative care.

• There is limited evidence beyond the HIV/AIDS context to guide decision-makers on the provision of palliative care for people who use drugs during communicable disease epidemics and pandemics.

What this paper adds?

• This paper demonstrates that there is limited knowledge about how to provide palliative care for people who use drugs during epidemics and pandemics other than HIV/AIDS.

• We identified enablers and barriers to equitable palliative care access, which include organizational barriers, issues related to stigma and structural inequity, and access to opioids and other substances

• Our findings build on past research that seeks to integrate the premises of health equity within palliative care so health systems can be better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics.

Implications for practice, theory, or policy

• The findings from our scoping review provides accessible and relevant evidence for healthcare professionals and decision-makers (e.g. policy makers, administrators) that can be applied to the COVID-19 pandemic response efforts and potentially future epidemics and pandemics.

• More research is needed about palliative care access, policies, and programs for people who use drugs during communicable disease epidemics and pandemic beyond the HIV/AIDS context.

Full paper available from:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02692163221143153

If you would like to record a podcast about your published (or accepted) Palliative Medicine paper, please contact Dr Amara Nwosu:

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