Do the clinical management guidelines for Covid-19 in African Countries reflect the African quality palliative care standards? A rapid review [Preprint].

Type Journal Article Author Oladayo A Afolabi Author Mary Abboah-Offei Author Eve Namisango Author Emeka Chukwusa Author Adejoke O. Oluyase Author Emmanuel BK Luyirika Author Richard Harding Author Kennedy Nkhoma URL https://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/20-267120.pdf Publication World Health Organisation Bulletin Date 26/05/2020 DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.20.267120 Language en Abstract Palliative care should be a component of COVID-19 management to relieve suffering, improve patient outcomes and save cost. We identified and appraised palliative care recommendations within COVID-19 management guidelines in Africa using rapid document analysis. All guidelines of any language published between December 2019 and May 2020 were retrieved through online search and email to in-country key contacts. We appraised the documents using African Palliative Care Association standards for providing quality palliative care. Fifty-five documents were retrieved from 29 out of 54 African countries. Fifteen documents from 15 countries were included in the final analysis, of which eight countries have identifiable PC recommendations in their COVID-19 management guidelines. The other seven countries have statements of recommendations which are relevant to palliative care. Governments and policymakers in Africa must prioritise palliative care within case management guidelines to ensure patients with COVID-19 have access.