title: Can we overcome the effect of conflicts in rendering palliative care? An introduction to the Middle Eastern Cancer Consortium (MECC).
abstract: The Middle East has been experiencing an ongoing political conflict for the past several decades. This situation has been characterized by hostility often leading to violence of all sources. At times, such a conflict led to the outbreak of a military war, which was followed by an enmity between religious, ethnic, cultural, and national populations. In such environmental situations, palliative care professionals often confront major challenges including bias, mistrust, and mutual suspicion between patients and their treating clinicians. In order to overcome such obstacles, while rendering palliative care services, all professionals involved need careful planning and execution of their treatment plans. The latter is however possible, and sometimes successful even across lines of conflict, thereby promoting understanding, mutual respect, and tolerance between the involved communities and individuals.
authors.affiliation: Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, Middle East Cancer Consortium, Haifa, Israel. cancer@mecc-research.com
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silbermann
authors.forename: Amal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khleif
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tuncer
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pitsillides
authors.forename: Aziza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shad
authors.forename: Amitai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oberman
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elshami
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gultekin
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Daher
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tarawneh
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harford
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003469:Culture; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D006296:Health Services; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008877:Middle East; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011057:Politics; D014857:Warfare