A Field Manual for Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises

As humanitarian aid organizations have evolved, there is a growing recognition that incorporating palliative care into aid efforts is an essential part of providing the best care possible. A Field Manual for Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises represents the first-ever effort at educating and providing guidance for clinicians not formally trained in palliative care in how to incorporate its principles into their work in crisis situations. Written by a team of international experts, this pocket-sized manual identifies the needs of people affected by natural hazards, political or ethnic conflict, epidemics of life-threatening infections, and other humanitarian crises. Later chapters explore topics including pain management, skin conditions, non-communicable diseases, palliative care emergencies, the law and ethics of end of life care, and more. Concise and highly accessible, this manual is an ideal educational tool pre-deployment or during fieldwork for clinicians involved in planning and providing humanitarian aid, local care providers, and medical trainees.

Elisha Waldman, MD, FAAHPM, spent a significant portion of his career practicing both pediatric oncology and palliative care in Jerusalem, and has worked with refugee populations in the Middle East and elsewhere. Dr Waldman is active in the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, where he sits on a number of committees. He is currently the Chief of the Division of Palliative Care at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, where he lives with his wife and children. He has published in a number of medical journals as well as national media outlets. He is the author of the nonfiction book This Narrow Space about his experiences working in the Middle East. His writing has appeared in the Hill, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time and elsewhere. Marcia Glass, MD, earned her medical degree at Georgetown University and completed her residency training at Tulane University. She has worked extensively abroad, including stints with Doctors without Borders, Partners in Health, the Liberian government, UCSF, and Columbia University. She received a Yale Johnson and Johnson fellowship and a Fulbright. She is currently program director for the palliative-care fellowship at Tulane. Dr. Glass has published in several medical journals and online publications, including the Washington Post, The Journal of Hospital Medicine, and The Lancet.