The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), held two public lectures this April on the subject of ‘Palliative Care and Islamic Ethics’, at the University of Oxford in the UK and at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in Doha.

WISH 2018 Palliative
Dr Mohammed Ghaly (left)

The lectures explored end-of-life care in Qatar and the region, the effect of the increase in the number of people requiring palliative care, and the need to ensure that dying Muslims and their families receive reassurance that the care they are provided is in line with Islamic principles.

Dr Mohammed Ghaly, who leads the WISH Palliative Care and Islamic Ethics research group, delivered presentations at both lectures on the Islamic perspective on different ethical issues relevant to the management of palliative care, such as communicating bad news, artificial nutrition and hydration, and the decision-making process.

Islamic Ethics and Palliative Care will feature among the research topics that will form the focus of WISH 2018, taking place in Doha in November. The WISH research group, led by Dr Ghaly, consists of an international group of experts who are investigating the ethical challenges and questions that palliative care gives rise to from an Islamic perspective. The group’s findings, to be published in a report ahead of WISH 2018, will be discussed in-depth during a panel session at the event.

In addition to exploring and analysing the key ethical challenges of palliative care from an Islamic perspective, the aim of the academic research within the forum is to produce policy recommendations that can have a positive impact on the management of palliative care in Qatar, the region, and beyond. The report will include local case studies with unique religio-ethical implications that will then be addressed from an Islamic perspective.

Dr Ghaly said that the interactions with the audience during the public talks have been extremely insightful and re-emphasised the need for the implementation of evidence-based policy guidelines to guide the practice of palliative care management in the region and beyond.

For more information and updates on WISH 2018, check out wish.org.qa.