Collection

Equity and Diversity in Palliative Care

Submission status
Closed
Palliative care, as defined for this collection, is a clinical and interprofessional discipline provided along a continuum of care that begins with early interventions, continuing with symptom-focused treatment, hospice, and end-of-life care, as well as bereavement and grief support. Health equity is recognized by the World Health Organisation as an important component of social justice and is described as the absence of unfair or avoidable differences. Equity is recognized as a key component of palliative care and is achieved when all can reach their fullest health potential through timely, appropriate, and high-quality care. Diversity considers what makes each person unique in their illness narrative regarding heritage, sociodemographic characteristics, and identity expression, including a thorough reflection of intersectional identities. Health disparities are the preventable results of structural discrimination and marginalization that impacts and perpetuates poor outcomes if left unaddressed. When it comes to the delivery of high-quality palliative care, systematic and structural health disparities exist. While this is not a new phenomenon, the rise of social movements around the globe over the past decade and the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed societal fissures and inequities that demand attention. This collection on ‘Equity and Diversity in Palliative Care' welcomes contributions from clinical research and original theoretical reflections relating to philosophical, ethical, and policy issues specific to this theme.

Editors

  • Jonathan Koffman: Hull York Medical School, United Kingdom Jonathan Koffman: Hull York Medical School, United Kingdom , 

    Jonathan Koffman: Hull York Medical School, United Kingdom

    Jonathan Koffman, BA (Hons), MSc, Ph.D., is a medical sociologist who has conducted studies examining social inequity and palliative care experiences and outcomes for over 20 years. Recent world events, including the Empire Windrush scandal, Black Lives Matter, and COVID-19 pandemic, with their disproportionate impact on those from minoritized communities and low socioeconomic positions, have radically changed his views on the experience of those dying in the margins, questioning previous research on the manner in which study questions have been constructed, methods chosen to address those questions, and the way findings have been reported.

  • Christian Schulz-Quach: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada Christian Schulz-Quach: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada  &

    Christian Schulz-Quach: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada

    Dr. Christian Schulz-Quach, MD, MSc, MA, MRCPSych, is a staff psychiatrist at the Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. He is a Clinician Educator and Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Canada, and a board-certified Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist with work experience in Germany, UK, US, and Canada. He has specialty training in Psychosomatic Medicine, Medical Psychotherapy, and Palliative Medicine and is a candidate at the Toronto Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. His special interest is Existential Psychoanalysis.

  • Gilla Shapiro: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada Gilla Shapiro: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada

    Gilla Shapiro: Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada

    Gilla Shapiro, MA (Cantab), MPP/MPA, Ph.D., is a Psychologist and Clinician-Scientist in the Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. Gilla completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at McGill University and her dual-degree MPA/MPP at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Hertie School of Governance. Gilla’s clinical and research interests include psychosocial oncology, palliative care, health behavior, the social determinants of health, health equity, and policy analysis.

Articles (10 in this collection)