Paediatric Palliative Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Malaysian Perspective

Lee Ai Chong; Erwin J Khoo; Azanna Ahmad Kamar; Hui Siu Tan

doi:10.1007/s41649-020-00142-2

Paediatric Palliative Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Malaysian Perspective

Asian Bioeth Rev. 2020 Aug 13;12(4):529-537. doi: 10.1007/s41649-020-00142-2. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Lee Ai Chong¹, Erwin J Khoo², Azanna Ahmad Kamar¹, Hui Siu Tan³

Affiliations

¹ University Malaya Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
³ Hospital Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Malaysia had its first four patients with COVID-19 on 25 January 2020. In the same week, the World Health Organization declared it as a public health emergency of international concern. The pandemic has since challenged the ethics and practice of medicine. There is palpable tension from the conflict of interest between public health initiatives and individual's rights. Ensuring equitable care and distribution of health resources for patients with and without COVID-19 is a recurring ethical challenge for clinicians. Palliative care aims to mitigate suffering caused by a life-limiting illness, and this crisis has led to the awareness and urgency to ensure it reaches all who needs it. We share here the palliative care perspectives and ethical challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.

Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical ethics; Malaysia; Paediatrics; Palliative care; Pandemic.