Skip to main content

Palliative Care in Lebanon: From Inception to Implementation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Palliative Care for Chronic Cancer Patients in the Community

Abstract

In Lebanon, the demand for palliative care (PC) service is expected to rise with the aging population and the high burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In 2015, Lebanon had the highest percentage of people aged 65 years and older (7.3%) in the Arab region, and this number is projected to reach 12% by the year 2030. Years 2011 and 2013 witnessed major steps towards the implementation of palliative care within the health care system in Lebanon by the launching of the National Committee for pain relief and Palliative Care (NCPC) and the recognition of palliative care medicine as a new specialty, respectively. This chapter presents the current situation of palliative care at different levels in the country and the main challenges for proper implementation and dissemination.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. WHO noncommunicable diseases country profiles 2018. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. Accessed 23 Dec 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Rao JK, Anderson LA, Smith SM. End-of-life is a public health issue. Am J Prev Med. 2002;2393:215–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mehio AS, Rizk A, Kronfol NM. Aging in Lebanon: perils and prospects. Le Journal Medical Libanais. Lebanese Med J. 2015;63(1):2–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sibai A, Kronfol N. Country profile: older population in Lebanon: facts and prospects: Center for Studies on Aging A Publications; 2011. http://www.csa.org.lb/cms/assets/archives/2011/13%20country%20profile%20elderly%20population%20in%20lebanon%20facts%20and%20prospects%20english.pdf. Accessed 23 Dec 2019.

  5. Ministry of Public Health website: www.moph.gov.lb. National Cancer Registry 2016; Accessed 23 Dec 2019.

  6. Soueidan S, Osman H, El-Jardali F. K2P policy brief: integrating palliative care into the health system in Lebanon. Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center, Beirut, Lebanon, July 2018 https://www.aub.edu.lb/k2p/Documents/K2P%20Policy%20Brief-%20Palliative%20Care-August%207%202018.pdf. Accessed 23 Dec 2019.

  7. World Health Organization. WHO definition of palliative care. 2018. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/definition/en/.

  8. Radbruch L, De Lima L, Lohmann D, Gwyther E, Payne S. The Prague Charter: urging governments to relieve suffering and ensure the right to palliative care. Palliat Med. 2013;27(2):101–2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Daher M, Estephan E, Abu-Saad HH, Naja Z. Implementation of palliative care in Lebanon: past, present, and future. Le Journal Medical Libanais. Lebanese Med J. 2008;56(2):70–6.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Daher M, Doumit M. Palliative care in Lebanon: current practices, and perspectives for the future. New York: Palliative Care Vol 1, Nova Science Publishers, Inc; 2017. Chapter 21, p 307-316, isbn# 978-1-53612-084.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Osman H, Rihan A, Garralda E, Rhee JY, Pons JJ, de Lima L, et al. Atlas of palliative care in the eastern mediterranean region. Houston: IAHPC Press; 2017. http://dadun.unav.edu/handle/10171/43303; Accessed 23 Dec 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Abu-Saad HH, Dimassi H. Palliative Care in Lebanon: knowledge, attitudes and practices of physicians and nurses. Le Journal Medical Libanais. Lebanese Med J. 2007;55(3):121–8.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Abu-Saad HH, Sagherian K, Tamim H, Naifeh MK, Abboud M. Quality of palliative care in children with cancer in Lebanon. Le Journal Medical Libanais. Lebanese Med J. 2013;61(4):228–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Daher M. Palliative Care in Lebanon: achievements and future. Human Health. 2012;20:14–7.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Ahmed N, Bestall JC, Ahmedzai SH, Payne SA, Clark D, Noble B. Systematic review of the problems and issues of accessing specialist palliative care by patients, carers and health and social care professionals. Palliat Med. 2004;18(6):525–42.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Centeno C, Rodriguez-Nunez A. The contribution of undergraduate palliative care education: does it influence the clinical patient's care? Curr Opin Support Palliat Care. 2015;9(4):375–91. https://doi.org/10.1097/SPC.0000000000000169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Chung HO, Oczkowski SJW, Hanvey L, Mbuagbaw L, You JJ. Educational interventions to train healthcare professionals in end-of-life communication: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Med Educ. 2016;16(1):131. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-0653-x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Osman H, Abboud M, El LZ, Ghusn H, Hanna J, Kanazi G. Setting practice standards for palliative care in Lebanon: recommendations of the subcommittee on practice - National Committee for pain control and palliative care. Le Journal Medical Libanais. Lebanese Med J. 2013;61(4):199–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Doumit M, Abu-Saad Huijer H. Lebanese cancer patients: communication and truth telling. Contemp Nurse. 2008;28:1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Daher M, Doumit M, Hajjar R, Hamra R, Naifeh Khoury M, Tohmé A. Integrating palliative care into health education in Lebanon. Lebanese Med J. 2013;61(4):191–8. http://www.lebanesemedicaljournal.org/articles/61-4/review1.pdf.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. World Health Organization. Planning and implementing palliative care services: a guide for programme managers. 2016. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/250584.

  22. Doumit M, Abu-Saad Huijer H, Kelley J. The lived experience of Lebanese oncology patients receiving palliative care. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2007;11:309–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Balsam. The Lebanese Center for palliative care - annual report 2018. 2018. http://balsam-lb.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Balsam-Annual-report-2018.pdf.

  24. SANAD. SANAD annual report 2018. 2018. Retrieved from http://www.anadhospice.org/wp-content/uploads/SANAD-Annual-Report-2018.pdf.

  25. Abu-Saad Huijer H, Deeb ME, Ghusn H, Karam GE, Zeineldine S. Palliative care research in Lebanon. J Med Liban. 2013;61(4):204–9.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Osman H. Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health issues decree on reimbursement for palliative care; An historic step toward more humane healthcare. 2019. https://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/lebanons-ministry-of-public-health-issues-decree-on-reimbursement-for-palliative-care.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Myrna A. A. Doumit .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Doumit, M.A.A. (2021). Palliative Care in Lebanon: From Inception to Implementation. In: Silbermann, M. (eds) Palliative Care for Chronic Cancer Patients in the Community. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54526-0_33

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54526-0_33

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-54525-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-54526-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics