Palliative care in the response to Ebola

16102014Recent counts of the scale of the Ebola outbreak put the number of confirmed, suspected and probable cases of Ebola in the worst affected countries at 8,033, with 3,879 recorded deaths (Reuters).

As one article in the New England Journal of Medicine reports: “As yet, there is no persuasive evidence that the epidemic is under control” (Briand et al., 2014: p1181). It is clear that many months of coordinated effort by health care workers properly trained, protected and supported are ahead.

Although there is no known vaccine or cure for Ebola, the steps recommended by WHO and other international health organizations to reduce mortality are through supportive care and community education. Both of these areas are core competencies of those trained in palliative care…read more

View powerful photo essay by the New York Times: Life, Death and Grim Routine Fill the Day at a Liberian Ebola Clinic

Read more about Ebola:
Ebola 2014 — New Challenges, New Global Response and Responsibility
Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa — No Early End to the Outbreak
Face to Face with Ebola — An Emergency Care Center in Sierra Leone
A Good Death — Ebola and Sacrifice

From ehospice

Published on: 16 October, 2014 | Last modified: 16 October, 2014