WISH To Host Public Talks on Islamic Ethics and End-Of-Life Care in Doha and Oxford

The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, is inviting the public to participate in talks on the subject of Islamic Ethics and Palliative Care.
The discussions will take place at Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU’s) College of Islamic Studies auditorium in Education City, Doha, on April 10 and at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, on April 16. Both events will start at 7pm and will feature expert presentations and the opportunity for public interaction.
Both events will feature presentations by Dr. Mohammed Ghaly, who leads the WISH Islamic Ethics and Palliative Care research group.
The Doha talk will also feature a presentation by Dr. Azza Adel Hassan, a contributing member of the WISH research group and Program Director of the Support and Palliative Care Unit of the National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation, who will share her knowledge of end-of-life care from a medical practitioner’s perspective.
Commenting on the talks, Dr. Ghaly said: “I am delighted to be working with WISH once again to address one of the most sensitive topics, palliative care, from an Islamic perspective. Investigations have commenced and the forum members are already tackling the thorniest questions and ethical challenges in preparation for the launch of the research report. We look forward to discussing early findings and learning from our experiences as we work towards finalizing our report this month.”
The WISH research group, led by Dr. Ghaly, consists of an international collection of experts who are investigating the ethical challenges and questions 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 prestigious event. In addition to exploring and analyzing 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.
Islamic Ethics and Palliative Care will be one of nine research topics that will form the focus of WISH 2018. The nine forums will highlight and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges across topics that cover medical, ethical, technological, and humanitarian aspects of healthcare. The topics announced so far include viral hepatitis, eye health, nursing and universal health coverage, and design in health.
The World Health Organization defines palliative care as an approach that leads to the improvement of the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem of terminal or life-threatening illness. This is achieved through the prevention of suffering by means of early identification and pain management. Palliative care also tackles other problems of well-being such as physical pain, psychosocial unrest, and spiritual treatment.