Research Snapshot: “So that at the end, you have a gentle landing”: Palliative care in natural disaster response

This document provides a two-page summary of the research undertaken as part of the R2HC-funded study Ethics & palliative care during international humanitarian action.

Humanitarian aid organizations and healthcare providers increasingly recognise the benefits of palliative care during humanitarian crises as a means of relieving human suffering. Interviews conducted with humanitarian healthcare providers who responded to natural disasters suggested that the provision of palliative care in disaster settings should be considered an ethical obligation. A key finding was that palliative care is possible during natural disaster response if it is incorporated into disaster planning beforehand.

This Snapshot summarises:

• Background to the research and how the research was conducted,
• Key findings,
• Implications for humanitarian practitioners and policymakers,
• Recommendations,
• Further reading.