Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Aug;39(8):986-995.
doi: 10.1177/10499091211046233. Epub 2021 Sep 16.

COVID-19, Suffering and Palliative Care: A Review

Tan Seng Beng  1 , Carol Lai Cheng Kim  1 , Chai Chee Shee  2 , Diana Ng Leh Ching  2 , Tan Jiunn Liang  1 , Mehul Kumar Narendra Kumar  3 , Ng Chong Guan  3 , Lim Poh Khuen  3 , Lam Chee Loong  1 , Loh Ee Chin  1 , Sheriza Izwa Zainuddin  1 , David Paul Capelle  1 , Ang Chui Munn  1 , Lim Kah Yen  1 , Nik Nathasha Hani Nik Isahak  1
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19, Suffering and Palliative Care: A Review

Tan Seng Beng et al. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2022 Aug.

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; communication; palliative care; suffering; symptom control; team care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Covid 19 at a glance.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Medical information for Covid 19 patients and their family members at a glance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Radbruch L, De Lima L, Knaul F, et al. Redefining palliative care—a new consensus-based definition. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020;60(4):754–764. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization (WHO). Palliative care. 2021. Accessed June 1, 2021. https://www.who.int/health-topics/palliative-care
    1. Ting R, Edmonds P, Higginson IJ, Sleeman KE. Palliative care for patients with severe Covid-19. BMJ. 2020;370:m2710. - PubMed
    1. Lovell N, Maddocks M, Etkind SN, et al. Characteristics, symptom management, and outcomes of 101 patients with Covid-19 referred for hospital palliative care. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020;60(1):e77–e81. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lopez S, Finuf KD, Marziliano A, Sinvani L, Burns EA. Palliative care consultation in hospitalized patients with Covid-19: a retrospective study of characteristics, outcomes, and unmet needs. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021;62(2):267–276. - PMC - PubMed