Abstract
Objective:The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in health professionals facing unprecedented challenges and changes in practice. Responding to humanitarian crises involves saving lives and reducing suffering and as such, palliative care is an essential component of the response to COVID-19. This study aimed to explore health professionals’ perspectives of the role of palliative care during the COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing their views and experiences expressed in articles and blogs located via Twitter.Method:Qualitative content analysis of 33 online articles and blogs written by health professionals from 1 February 2020 to 30 June 2020. Online articles and blogs were included if the URL was posted on Twitter. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guided data collection and reporting.Results:The health professionals whose viewpoints were analyzed were from Europe, North America, Oceania and Asia. The themes derived from content analysis were (a) the recognized value of palliative care during the pandemic, (b) positioning palliative care as every health professional’s responsibility and (c) specialist palliative care supporting and guiding health professionalsConclusions:This study utilizes a unique approach to exploring the perspectives of health professionals from several countries during a global pandemic. The study emphasizes the value of palliative care and identifies gaps in end-of-life care provision including resource allocation. This brings to light the urgent need to equip all health professionals with palliative care knowledge and skills, including discussing and planning care. Specialist palliative care teams are well placed to support health professionals to provide quality care.
Highlights
The unparalleled impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been experienced globally
An online opinion article or blog was included in this study if: 1) the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) was posted on Twitter in the form of a tweet, 2) the online article was written between 1 February 2020 to 30 June 2020, to capture the timeframe when COVID-19 transmission was accelerating, 3) the online opinion article or blog was written by a health professional and 4) the article was related to palliative care in the context of COVID-19
Online opinion pieces and blogs shared on social media have been a means to bring clinicians together to learn from and support each other during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
The unparalleled impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been experienced globally. Healthcare systems have been strained beyond their usual capacity as the widespread transmission of the illness has resulted in many individuals requiring significant medical treatment.[1].
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