Public Health Issues

A Move Forward for Palliative Care in Lebanon


Palliative care is an approach that focuses on maintaining quality of life and the relief of suffering among patients who suffer from to life-limiting and life-threatening illness. This approach to medical care focuses on the patient and his or her family and addresses the physical, psychological, social, spiritual and practical dimensions of illness. Although well established in many Western countries, Palliative Medicine has not yet been established in Lebanon. As a result, patients in Lebanon who are nearing the end of life are less likely to have their needs addressed. They continue to suffer pain, depression, and other physical symptoms and death with dignity remains a privilege for some rather than a right.

Dr. Hibah Osman has been providing palliative care to patients for several years and has been working to improve her knowledge and skills in this field. She was invited to participate in a 4 week International Visiting Scholars Program at the Institute of Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice in June 2010. San Diego Hospice has one of the largest hospice and palliative care programs in the United States and is recognized internationally for its training programs. The International Visiting Scholar Program was funded through a grant by the National Cancer Institute to support the training of physicians from around the world who are working to establish palliative care in their respective countries. The program included a total of 24 physicians with varying backgrounds. She had the privilege of working with a psychiatrist from Guatemala, an oncologist from Egypt, a geriatrician from Peru, and two pain specialists from Brazil and Colombia. Each of these physicians brought a wealth of experience to the group that enriched the program and enhance the learning process.

During her month in San Diego, Dr. Osman worked on a hospital-based palliative care service, in an inpatient hospice unit and with home hospice teams working in the community. She worked with interdisciplinary teams that included physicians, nurses, social workers, clinical pharmacists, psychologists and chaplains. She was also exposed to the use of alternative and complementary therapies used in palliative care such as aromatherapy, music therapy, and art therapy among others. The training also included a component related to advocacy and lobbying effectively to push the agenda of palliative care forward on the national level.

Dr. Osman has brought her experience back and is working to develop palliative care in Lebanon. She recently founded the Lebanese Center for Palliative Care – Balsam. The mission of this NGO is to relieve suffering and improve the quality of life of people with life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses through patient care, advocacy, capacity building and research. She has maintained close ties with the faculty members at San Diego Hospice and they continue to support her efforts to move palliative care forward in Lebanon.