Decolonizing end-of-life care: lessons and opportunities

Christian Ntizimira; Mbonyinkebe S Deo; Mary Dunne; Eric Krakauer

doi:10.3332/ecancer.2022.ed121

Decolonizing end-of-life care: lessons and opportunities

Ecancermedicalscience. 2022 Apr 28:16:ed121. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2022.ed121. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Christian Ntizimira¹, Mbonyinkebe S Deo², Mary Dunne³, Eric Krakauer⁴

Affiliations

¹ Executive Director, African Center for Research on End-of-Life Care, KK 394, KK 43 Av, Kicukiro Niboye, PO Box 00000, Kigali, Rwanda.
² Fellow, Rwanda Academy of Sciences, Ituze House, 3rd Floor, KN Rd 6 Remera, PO Box 00000, Kigali, Rwanda.
³ Fellow, Distinguished Career Institute, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
⁴ Assoc Professor of Medicine and of Global Health & Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 641 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Abstract

While palliative care should be universally accessible [1], the specific types and severity of illness and suffering vary by geopolitical situation, socioeconomic condition, and culture [2]. The meaning of suffering and death vary similarly [3]. As such, palliative care should consider local culture when considering the needs of individual patients and families. While pain and symptom control have universal value, optimal application may vary greatly depending on context.

Keywords: Africa; colonialism; culture; end-of-life; palliative care.

Publication types

Editorial